CALL IT "Search for
When Stafford County's Susanne Lazanov read the details of a Falmouth woman's ring mystery here recently, the Falls Run resident couldn't believe the parallels to her own story.
A high school ring belonging to a missing owner acquired by her father. Check.
Passed to her with the understanding she'd try to track down an owner known only by initials engraved on the inside. Check.
A search that stretched over decades, with sporadic attempts to use school officials and classmates to find the owner. Check.
And, finally, success at identifying the owner. Check.
"I couldn't believe how similar our ring experiences were," said Lazanov, a freelance writer who moved to Falls Run in 2004 and is editor of the community's newsletter.
Lazanov's ring was found by her father one afternoon in 1972 while he walked the family dog in the Brighton Beach area of Brooklyn.
Her father spotted something shiny on the sidewalk and bent over to find a Lafayette High School ring, class of 1970. It was a hefty, man's ring with the initials "S.D." on the inside.
Lazanov, who was visiting her parents, was entrusted with the ring by her father, who asked her to do everything she could to find its owner.
The ring took a back seat for years to a young marriage, a new house and a first child.
When her father passed away in 1976, Lazanov received some of her father's belongings, which jogged her memory about the promise to find the ring's owner.
A letter to the school went unanswered.
The ring got tucked away for some 30 years.
Two summers ago, Lazanov decided to use the power of the Internet, posting a found message on Brooklyn's Craigslist. No response.
On classmates.com, she learned a woman named Debbie was organizing a reunion for the classes of 1970 and 1971.
Lazanov, who wrote the experience up as a short story, said, "I fire off an e-mail 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."
Debbie posted a notice about the ring, including a picture.
Soon after, Aug. 8 last year, came an e-mail from Debbie, identifying the owner.
"His name is Sal D. I tracked him down after Ellen, a friend, mentioned his name," it said. "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."
The next day, Lazanov spoke to the Sal by phone, and learned that he lost the ring on his first date at the beach with the woman who eventually became his wife.
Sal said he thought he lost the ring in the sand at the beach and even returned with friends to search for it.
After graduation came college, medical school, a family and more. But Sal said he often wondered where it ended up.
When she mailed the ring to Sal, Lazanov tucked a note in the box that said "May the memories the ring rekindles bring you pleasure and a newfound incentive to reconnect with former friends and classmates."
It concluded, "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."
Anyone else have a ring story to share?
We're on a roll here.
Rob Hedelt: 540/374-5415
Email: rhedelt@freelancestar.com