- It was the size of the stinking, oozing pile of garbage
-- all eight tons of it -- that pushed Lisa Bell to the edge of despair.
-
- Until she stood at the edge of that pile in the beating
sun, Bell was convinced she would find her diamond ring, the one she had
mistakenly thrown in the trash along with her diamond earrings and gold
chain.
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- "It was a huge pile. It was pretty overwhelming,"
the 30-year-old elementary-school teacher said yesterday. "I had no
idea how much garbage I'd have to look through. It seemed impossible."
-
- Bell had been packing up the house, preparing to move
next month, when somehow she tossed the two tiny jewel boxes into the garbage
pile instead of the packing pile.
-
- The next morning, she couldn't find the engagement ring
from her fiance, Dennis Lee. The wedding is six weeks away.
-
- "I had that sinking feeling," said Bell, who
lives in North Vancouver with her fiance. "It was a horrible feeling
of dread."
-
- Of course Wednesday was garbage day, and the trash was
already gone.
-
- Frantic, Bell called the City of North Vancouver works
yard to find out whether the truck carrying her garbage had already dumped
its load.
-
- "She was in tears," said works yard foreman
Rod Craig. "She was just desperate."
-
- He radioed the garbage truck -- it was full but not yet
at the dump -- and asked the driver to bring the load to the works yard.
-
- "I told her it was slim to none that she would find
the ring," Craig said. "The garbage was all compacted in the
hopper."
-
- A full garbage truck holds eight tons of compacted garbage.
The pile was about twice the length of the truck and twice as wide. And
it was hip deep.
-
- "It is just disgusting stuff," Craig said.
-
- When Bell arrived, it was a hot morning and she was wearing
shorts and sandals. Craig handed her a pair of white disposable overalls,
rubber boots and gloves, and suggested a likely place to start searching.
-
- "She was pretty emotional, but off she went, swearing
and crying," he said. "I helped her out for a while, but I was
digging through thinking there's no way she's going to find it."
-
- After half an hour, Bell recognized some flower stalks
sticking out of a big garbage bag, but the bag she was looking for was
small and white.
-
- "It was so disgusting. I was covered in ooze and
slush and it was so hot, I was drenched inside the overalls," she
said.
-
- "There were maggots and flies and rats running around.
It was pretty repulsive. But I couldn't tear myself away. I knew it was
in there, and I felt so guilty."
-
- One hour and about four tons later, her fiance arrived
at the works yard to help.
-
- "It was worse than I thought it would be,"
Lee said. "I thought, what are the chances?"
-
- But only a few minutes passed before Bell started screaming.
She had found the little white bag and her jewel boxes were still inside.
-
- "I jumped out of that pile so fast," she said.
"That ring will never come off again."
-
- Craig radioed the news to the garbage trucks that Bell
had found her ring.
-
- "It was such a happy thing; a real morale booster,"
said Craig, adding the smelly but smiling couple returned later in the
day with a thank-you gift of beer.
-
- "Everybody was cheering for her . . . It's nice
it worked out happy."
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- © The Vancouver Province 2004 http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/news/
story.html?id=9ae186eb-fc9c-4358-ad1e-3c97fe7358b9
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