COEUR d'ALENE - One silver balloon with one simple message bridged the gap between distant strangers and made a lifetime memory for the Torvik family this summer.

Vivian Torvik of Coeur d'Alene and her son, Michael, 4, attached the message, "If found, please call" along with their phone number to three balloons in mid-July. They released the balloons into the summer skies, which were ravaged by storms that evening.

Vivian's mom, Jeannine Torvik, said the family was surprised by a response the very next day.

"Lo and behold, the next morning she got a call from a woman who lives in Troy, Mont.," she said.

One balloon had traveled almost a direct northeastern path from the Torvik home on west Hanley Avenue to the home of an older couple that lives in Troy, 112 miles from Coeur d'Alene.

"It was so sweet, her husband was out in the garden and saw this shiny thing," Jeannine said. "They were tickled pink; they couldn't believe it. They were in awe. I think it made their day, if not week."

Jeannine said her daughter is studying child development and always looking for fun activities to do with her son.

"We have no idea what happened to the other two, but that one was enough just to make us happy," Jeannine said. She added that it was exciting for her grandson to know his message had reached people so far away and he was eager to find the location on a map.

"I feel there's not enough happy stories in life," Jeannine said. "You have all the wars and diseases, poverty, homelessness. It's hard."

Jeannine said she was happy to share the balloon message story, especially if it brightened even one person's day.