Have you ever lost your wedding ring? Come to think of it, is it on right now? You sure?  You looked, didn't you?  That's a good thing, because for one area man, who just assumed it was there, later realized it wasn't. Luckily, the power of social media saved the day.

It was certainly cold and crowded during the Fire and Ice Parade this past Saturday night (12/6).  As the parade ended, a 3-year-old boy who was picking up candy happened to notice something that certainly wasn't candy -- he had found a men's wedding ring. But it wasn't your typical gold band either, it was very unique.  And, thankfully, there are great people in this world, as this boy's father decided to post his find to social media, specifically Facebook.

Knowing that this was an item of value, Brian, the little boy's father, was very non-descript in the posting to a "closed" Facebook group, simply saying the ring was "unique in its own way."  The post caught the attention of quite a few in this group of almost 10,400 area residents, including my wife.  So I brought it to the attention of our digital team, as did a listener, and we got in contact with Brian, then spread the word through our social media channels. At the time this article was posted, that post has been shared over 373 times across our 4 stations, having reached minimally over 45,400 people.  One of those shares was from Mary Beth to her husband Joe.

Sunday night, as Joe was going to bed, he realized his wedding ring wasn't on his finger. However, he figured it was somewhere in the house. Talking with him, he also revealed this wasn't the first time he lost it.  In fact, last time, it was lost when scraping ice off the car last winter, and it was gone for a month!  So, he didn't tell Mary Beth 'till Monday morning, at which point they searched the house to no avail.

Meanwhile, our listeners, including half a dozen of Joe and Mary Beth's friends, were busy helping us spread the post across Facebook. So, more as a joke, Mary Beth shared it with her husband. Joe tells us he and Mary Beth are avid cyclists, and participated in a ride on Saturday, which included a stop at Parlor City for lunch, which is the last place he knows for sure he saw the ring.  Later that night, they met up with the Iowa Bicycle Coalition for their entry in the Fire and Ice "Holiday de-Light" Parade.  They had fun waving to the crowd and "playing some Bruce Springsteen."  Joe decided it was worth a shot, and sent the ring description to our team, who forwarded it on to Brian.  Within moments, Brian responded with a simple "That's the one!"

Joe (Mary Beth in background as well as their co-worker Ben who's wife originally saw the post.)
Joe (Mary Beth in background as well as their co-worker Ben who's wife originally saw the post.)
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We are happy to report as of last night, Joe and his ring were reunited.  In fact, Mary Beth shared how cute it was that the 3 year-old-boy who found it actually handed the ring back to Joe. And so, Christmas is saved, thanks to a good person, a lucky 3 year old, and all of you who shared the story.

We had to ask Joe though, especially since this is the second time it's happened in their 2 years of marriage, how is he going to make this up to Mary Beth?  He considered his answer wisely then responded with "maybe take her out to dinner... and help around the house more."  She happily agreed that the second half of that statement sounded really good!  He might also look into getting a spacer put on the ring, as you can't re-size tungsten.

Thanks to all of our listeners who helped bring about the happy ending to this story!

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