Postal Service turns in sparkling job

Greg Risling

NEWPORT BEACH -- Alice Beveridge would argue that the U.S. Postal

Service, along with diamonds, are her best friends.

One week before she and her husband were going to celebrate their 40th

anniversary last month, Beveridge lost the diamond from her engagement

ring.

She searched frantically for two days until she received a call Friday,

Aug. 13 from a postal service supervisor who told her they had found the

diamond. So despite the Friday the 13th superstition, it was Beveridge’s

lucky day.

“I would have been very disappointed to celebrate our anniversary without

my ring,” she said. “I presumed that losing the diamond was another

lesson in life. It turned out for the best.”

The story begins several weeks ago when Beveridge and her husband headed

to a post office on Riverside Avenue in Newport Beach. Beveridge noticed

the drive-up drop boxes were crammed with the day’s mail, but she managed

to shove in a letter.

The West Newport couple drove away, and as Beveridge reached down to

scratch her left leg, she felt the prongs from her wedding ring poking

into her skin. Her precious stone was missing.

“After 40 years of wear, the prongs probably loosened the diamond,” she

said. “I figured I lost the diamond at the post office, but I wasn’t

sure.”

They rushed back to the post office and learned the mail had been picked

up and taken to the main branch on Camelback. When they arrived, they

noticed a truck pulling up to the back. Postal worker Tim McDonald was

ready to unload the mail.

Beveridge pleaded with him to search the containers. McDonald and six

other workers helped but told Beveridge the deadline to send and deliver

was five minutes away.

They searched thoroughly but found no diamond.

McDonald and the couple even went back to the mailboxes, but again, no

luck.

Beveridge retraced her steps over the next two days. She combed her

street, swept her yard and examined every crevice in her house. Her

frustration was mounting.

Then, late that Friday night, the phone rang. It was Lorraine Winslow,

who had helped look for the diamond at the main postal branch. She had

good news.

The diamond was found.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Beveridge said. “It was unbelievable, but we

found out soon enough it was true.”

McDonald had kept his eyes peeled for the half-carat diamond. He saw the

diamond wedged in a crack below the mailboxes.

Beveridge had told the postal workers how big she thought the stone was.

It turned out, the diamond was much smaller.

“It was so tiny. I don’t know how they found it,” she said. “We went over

there, and they had a letter with everyone’s signature. I was so touched

by their generosity and spirit.”

With the stone recovered, the couple celebrated their wedding anniversary

a week later. Her husband proposed to her 40 years ago when he was

stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. They had a special dinner, and the

recovery of the diamond enhanced their evening.

“It reaffirms my basic belief we all wish the best for each other and are

willing to help each other out to make that a reality,” she said. “I

wouldn’t have had a happy ending without the help of the people who

worked for the postal service.”