Woman finds message from dead husband in shop

Gail Cotter lost her husband to cancer a year ago during the holiday season. So this Christmas has been hard for her.

But recently while shopping with her daughter, Michelle Olszewski, for presents for the grandchildren, she picked up one of those draw-and-erase boards that kids can doodle on. She noticed something printed on the screen. "I love you Gail."

It's not surprising that someone might have tried out the Magic Writer before Gail happened to pull it down from the shelf at the Big Lots store on S. 27th St.



But to find a message of love and her own not-that-common name? Gail believes her husband of 37 years, Gary, was telling her everything is OK. "I was like, oh my God, he left me a sign. I couldn't move," Gail said. "She called me over and I, too, was speechless," said Michelle.

They swear neither of them wrote the message to comfort the other, yet they believe there's a perfectly earthbound explanation of how it got on the screen. The true miracle, they say, is that Gail found it when she needed it most.

Gail plans to keep the Magic Writer as long as the message lasts. If it fades and disappears, she'll give it to the grandkids. She said she kind of wishes she had written something back to Gary on one of the other boards at the store.