The toll of love unrequited....

[Sindawe]

Nope, not me.

Broken-hearted donor leaves diamond ring in car
Fri Dec 16, 2005 10:44 AM ET

BOSTON (Reuters) - Are diamonds really forever?

An anonymous gift-giver left a $15,000 diamond engagement ring to the owner of an unlocked car in western Massachusetts with a typed note hinting at a broken heart.

"Merry Christmas. Thank you for leaving your car door unlocked. Instead of stealing your car I gave you a present. Hopefully this will land in the hands of someone you love, for my love is gone now. Merry Christmas to you," the note said.

The three-diamond ring with a white-gold band appeared on the seat of the man's car at a train station in Westborough, about 30 miles west of Boston, on December 7, police said. Four days later, the man reported it to police.

"This appears to be random," said Westborough Police Lt. Paul Donnelly. "I think there was a search for a car that was unlocked."

The 37-year-old man decided to keep the ring after a jeweler appraised its value at $15,, police said.

Source: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2005-12-16T154344Z_01_DIT656616_RTRUKOC_0_US-RING.xml

[P95Carry]

$15k - hey, that'd get some nice guns!!!

[Guest]

Aw. That really sucks for someone. What a crappy way to spend Christmas.

[SpookyPistolero]

That is pretty awful. I don't think I could keep it, for sure. I'd have to donate the the funds to charity or something. That's some bad vibes surrounding that rock.

That 'better to have loved and lost' is a bunch of hooey.

[Guest]

I have a funny fealing that the ring was left there by the woman who recieved it rather than the man who gave it. Thus making it someone else's property.

[Justin]

Love.

is.

dumb.

[Justin]

Except when you're madly in it.

[Warren]

Was the finger still in it?

[Strings]

ok, I'll admit it: I would have a SERIOUS moral delema here:

against keeping it after assessment: bad vibes, possibly someone else's property

for keeping it: that ring could buy you a flippin' M-16 (registered reciever)! And it was just left in your car!

 I'd like to think I would do the moral thing. But I'm realist enough to admit that I might  not. And before anyone slams me for that: I'm being honest...

 Assuming it was the guy who left it: the police might want to keep an eye on any suicides that show up in the near future...

[El Tejon]

Now does the cabbie have to take over the payments as well?

The guy may be out 15K but he saved hundreds of thousands of dollars over the long haul as well as the emotional hit when she bores of him or finds someone wealthier.  "We need to talk"="You need a lawyer.":D

An expensive lesson for him, but I would have sold the ring, not given it away!

[Antibubba]

I would have to sell it and give the money to those who make the world a better place:

The NRA, JPFO, GOA, CCRKBA....

[Guest]

My personal take is that you are ethically required to take every reasonable effort to find its rightfull owner. If that should fail, then you are entitled to keep it. What you do with the ring after that is up to your own moral compass. If you dont take an effort to find where it belogns its gonna make you feel guilty and you wont be able to truly enjoy anything that you buy with the proceeds.

[crt360]

How would you ever know if you found who it had belonged to?  If the police cleared it of being reported stolen, I'd sell it.  My good conscience and fine moral compass would lead me down to the Toyota dealership where I would make a down payment on a new (or slightly used) Tundra.  The person would feel happier knowing that I reaped the pleasure of an air-conditioned 4x4 from his forsaken token of affection.  I would have no guilt.  Sure, I feel sorry for him.  I've been close enough to the same situation to know how it feels, but a period of personal grief counseling by Johnny Walker and focus on my work and hobbies made it all better.  The bad thing about it is that many people may now leave their doors unlocked in hopes of receiving high value Christmas gifts, only to have their cars stolen.