By Lucy Wyndham
BISMARCK, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – It’s a spouse’s biggest nightmare and also one of the costliest mistakes they can make in a lifetime—throwing a ring away by mistake—and not just any old ring, but rather a wedding ring that has lasted for 32 years.
Trina Burns, of Bismark, North Dakota, realized that her ring was missing one day after leaving her office. She was certain that she had placed it on her finger, but when she couldn’t find it after a few minutes, panic set in, and she began tearing through her home. Next up was a call to her colleague, Alyssa, asking the latter to watch out for signs of the ring. Little did she know the extent to which not only Alyssa, but also three other colleagues, would go to help stop tragedy in its tracks.
A Gloved Affair
Alysson and her three colleagues first searched frantically in their bank office, concerned about how upset Trina sounded. They then put on their latex gloves and began dumpster diving through the endless pieces of trash in the dumpsters outside their office. They weren’t concerned about what people would think; after all, it is perfectly legal to rummage through trash in most states in the US, so long as this activity is carried out respectfully and discretely. The garbage bags weren’t as high up as the altruistic bunch had thought and they actually had to dive right in. One colleague actually inserted himself completely into the dumpster, just in case the ring had fallen into a crevice or space between bags.
All for Nothing
Interestingly, Trina’s colleagues braved the dumpster experience for naught. Her ring was found in the parking space next to where she had parked her own car the day previously. When Burns was asked if she would have gone to such an extreme extent to help out her colleagues, she said that she had had a good think about it and she probably would, especially now that she owed them a favor! The colleagues themselves explained their behavior by the sentimentality attached to the ring. As Alyssa, stated, when 32 years of marriage are linked to an item of jewelry, it is not something you can just let go of, especially if you think you have the slightest chance of recovering the item.
Their actions are testimony to the deep significance that human beings attach to jewelry, especially wedding and engagement pieces. It sounds like Trina may have had more to treasure than the ring, of course, for her colleagues can probably best be described as true friends, as worthy of keeping for the long ride as her husband.
When Trina Burns of Bismark lost her ring, she never thought she would find it again. Jewelry is a notoriously easy item to lose as it is small, light, and difficult to find. This didn’t deter her colleagues, of course, who went the extra mile to restore this meaningful item to their beloved workmate.
Although the effort didn’t amount to much, it did display the true friendship that arises in many offices across North Dakota—something that in itself has no price.