The Ring Comes Full Circle

by Susanne Lazanov

The note arrives a week after I mail the package. “I want to thank you for holding on to the ring for so many years until technology allowed you to find its owner,” it reads. “It’s hard to believe this worked out so well.”

Despite a tight deadline that has me tethered to my keyboard, I feel myself relax as I pull away from my computer to savor this long-awaited moment. Then, as I ease the note back into its envelope, suddenly it’s the summer of 1972. I’m visiting my parents in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn when my elderly father shows me the Lafayette HS ring he found during his daily walk. The ring’s heft indicates it belongs to a man. The engraving tells me S.D. graduated in 1970. 

Eager to return the ring to its rightful owner, but not knowing how, Dad entrusts it to me, the tenacious younger daughter. Equally clueless, I promise to do my best. Yet when I get home, I tuck the ring into my jewelry box, where it remains undisturbed for years while I nurture a young marriage, new house and first child.

Still ignoring the unfinished manuscript that beckons from my monitor, it’s now 1976, and Dad has recently passed away.  When Mom gives me some of Dad’s belongings, I suddenly remember the ring.  Now I’m determined to honor Dad’s memory by locating its owner. I write a letter to the Lafayette HS school secretary explaining the find and asking whether the library has a 1970 yearbook. My letter goes unanswered. My hopes of reuniting ring and owner are dashed.

From time to time over the next 30 years, one thing or another reminds me of the ring. I take it out, finger it carefully and continue wondering. Who is SD? And how will I ever find him?

Fast forward to June 2006. The ring catches my eye and prods me to action.  I post a ‘found’ message on Brooklyn’s Craigslist. Days pass. I’m disappointed but not surprised that no one responds. During a Web surf, an ad for classmates.com presents an inviting opportunity.  I log on and register as an alumna of Lafayette HS. Within days I learn that Debbie is organizing a reunion for the Lafayette HS class of 1970 and 1971 to be held the following August. Tingling with excitement, I fire off an email telling her about the ring.  Debbie graduated in 1971 and doesn’t have the yearbook I need.  But she shares my excitement and promises to publicize my find. Finally, I feel hopeful.

Returning to the present, I again choose rapture over responsibility and dig out the folder labeled ‘Debbie’s 2007 Emails.’ February 9—“We WILL find the owner…Thank you for guarding that ring for all of these years…I’ll post the info on our Web site.” August 7—“Someone will see the notice on the Web site and hopefully will come forward. Wouldn’t it be great if we can return the ring? What an adventure!!!”  August 8—“OMG. I think I may have located the owner!!!! Then, finally, the e-mail from later that evening--OK his name is Sal D--- I tracked him down after Ellen, a friend, mentioned his name. I haven’t spoken to Sal in 36 years, and we’ve spent this afternoon catching up.  Thank you so much for all of this.  Not only will he have his ring, but you will have managed to reconnect two long lost friends. I can’t tell you how big my smile is. Please share your beautiful story with him. You have a very special place in our Lafayette family!”

It’s the following day, and Sal and I have just finished talking by phone. Still in a state of disbelief, Sal tells me he lost the ring on his first date with the woman he eventually married. He and his friends tried to retrace their steps, but finding a ring at the beach is like the proverbial needle in a haystack, Sal assures me.  And so with college and medical school, marriage and fatherhood, and a demanding career, there was little time to think about the ring. That is, until Debbie called.

The note I tucked into the box reads, “May the memories the ring rekindles bring you pleasure and a newfound incentive to reconnect with former friends and classmates.  We owe a measure of gratitude to the power of the Internet and Debbie for making this ‘reunion’ possible.  I am certain my father would be happy as well as proud of his daughter’s perseverance.”

I return the folder to my desk and go back to work. Just like the ring, I’ve come full circle. Picturing my father’s approving smile is all I need to move forward.