Long-lost ring found and returned after 25 years

I had just sat down with a cup of tea when the phone rang. A very nice young man began asking me questions about things I had done while I was in high school, assuring me that this was not a crank call, but that all this had a purpose. Being a trusting person, I talked with him and became more and more intrigued as the discussion went on. After he was satisfied that I was the person he was looking for, he began to tell me about his mother, who worked at Royal Farms for over 18 years giving horseback riding lessons. She found something while giving a lesson a few years ago that he was now sure belonged to me.

When I was in my senior year of high school 25 years ago, my church group had a hay ride at this farm. We were a group of teenagers and, as you can imagine, we horsed around, throwing hay at each other, etc. I remember that we had a great time. When we were leaving, I noticed my school ring was missing. We began to frantically search for it, but it was dark and we found nothing. We asked the people in charge at the farm to look out for it but, needless to say, I resigned myself to the fact that the ring was lost and I graduated high school without it.

Where others may have just taken the ring to a pawn shop, this wonderful young man took the initiative to find me with only my high school name, my year of graduation, and my initials, which were engraved in the ring. He searched the Internet and found a reunion site and saw that my class had just celebrated its 25th reunion. Once he had a name, he went through the phone book and finally found my parents, who gave him my number. We met in the parking lot of a local mall. This 26-year-old man came with his mother and girlfriend and returned my ring, beautifully cleaned.

The amazing nature of this story is not that my ring was found and returned after 25 years, but rather that this young man would not give me his name and would not accept a reward. He told me that seeing the expression on my face when I was given the ring was more than enough thanks!

To this young man and his family I would like to say a sincere and heartfelt Thank you! Your perseverance to find me and your kindness reaffirms my belief in the goodness of people and has been an inspiration to all who have heard my tale.

Patricia (Bodak) Cumming

North Brunswick