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Published on 12/22/1999 All articles from this issue

Christmas comes early for woman who lost bracelet

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By Clyde Noel

Special to the Town Crier

There was a lot of hugging at Gleim Jewelers in Los Altos last Friday morning. That's because Jodi Goodenough's best Christmas present came early - a valuable tennis bracelet given up for lost was found and returned.

Last month, Joni's husband, John, an executive with Northwestern Life Insurance, went to McWhorter's to buy a card for his wife. Not stopping there, he went to Gleim Jewelers and bought her the diamond bracelet.

She loved it, but Jodi made the mistake of wearing the bracelet during an early-morning bike ride into Los Altos Hills. The bracelet somehow slipped off as she pedaled through downtown Los Altos.

"When I noticed my bracelet wasn't there I was hysterical. I only had it a couple of weeks and lost it," Joni said. "We retraced the morning bike ride in a car, and a group of women from Santa Rita School retraced the ride and found nothing. There was clearly nothing to do but sit down and howl. Life is made up of sobs, sniffles and smiles."

John placed a classified ad for the lost item in the Town Crier on the day the bracelet was lost, Dec. 8. It was close to Christmas and he thought of buying another gift. He also called the police.

Unknown to the Goodenoughs, Los Altos resident Joyce Dutton came across the bracelet at the intersection of First and Main streets while on a morning walk. John estimated that Dutton found the bracelet a mere 10 minutes after Jodi lost it.

Dutton took it home and two days later, placed a "found" ad in the same Town Crier classified section.

Classified employees Margaret Caesar and Helen DeCoursey were preparing their classified section for the week and noticed both the lost and found bracelet ads. Helen called Jodi and put her in touch with Dutton.

"When the Town Crier called there were hugs all around," Jodi said. "We just knew someone would find it. We hoped it was our bracelet."

"In today's fast-paced world, I found it hard to believe that someone would return it." John said.

John took the bracelet back to Gleim Jewelers for a safety chain to reduce the risk of it happening again.

Last Friday, Gleim's store manager, Pamela Smith, said a lot of bracelets are lost and very seldom are any returned to the owner.

"I think you should really thank the finder, being this close to Christmas. Things like this don't happen." Smith said.

Dutton's only comment was "I just did what you're supposed to do."