Posted on 02/17/2020 11:33:54 AM PST by Red Badger
Feb. 14 (UPI) -- A Maine woman who lost her then-boyfriend's class ring in 1973 was reunited with the precious item after it was found buried in a park in Finland.
Debra McKenna, 63, said her then-boyfriend, Shawn, gave her the Morse High School ring before he headed to college in 1973 and she accidentally left it in a bathroom at the Porteous, Mitchell & Braun Co. department store in Portland only a few months later.
McKenna and Shawn married in 1977 and remained together until he died in 2017 after a long fight with cancer.
The woman said the ring was long forgotten when the Morse High School Alumni Association received a message from Marko Saarinen, who explained he had found the ring buried under 8 inches of dirt while he was using his metal detector in a forested park in Kaarina, Finland.
The ring bore the name of the school and the initials "S.M.," which the alumni association determined could only have been Shawn McKenna.
"There was a lot of weeping when I learned that someone found it and made the effort to reach out and find me," McKenna told the Bangor Daily News.
Saarinen put the ring in the mail and McKenna received it this week.
McKenna said she does not know how the ring ended up in Finland. She said her husband spent some time in the country, but it was 20 years after the ring was lost.
"Shawn used to say there's no such thing as coincidences," McKenna said.
A relative of mine lost a ring on an air flight. He reported the loss to the airline but they didn't find it.
The ring was found several weeks later in his backpack, which had been open at his feet during the flight. Evidently he dropped the ring and it landed in the backpack.
My bet is that the husband in the story lost the ring and it became lodged in an article of clothing or a travel bag of some kind. The husband went to Finland with that article of clothing or bag and then lost the ring again.
I'm quite allergic to poison oak. One time, after realizing that I had inadvertently been in contact, I quickly took a long soapy shower. Unfortunately, I didn't take off a ring.
Under that ring was the only place where I reacted. I learned an unpleasant lesson.
Look at the big brain on WT. Smart deduction.
but I still have my HS ring and I cherish it.....
Mr. Handsome where is your picture, full length, so we can judge YOU....
You don't want to see a picture of this old man.
[...45 years later, he caught his own wallet...Fish had not spent any money...]
The fish I know usually go with credit card and debit card.
It’s less to carry for them when they swim. :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.