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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend October 15, 2006 Diogenes should have looked in used car lot By PAUL FATTIG Off the Beaten Path Given today's troubled world, Dorothy Bernhardt would be the first to tell you there is plenty cause to worry about humanity. She reads the paper. She knows about the high rate of crime, of political corruption, of Americans jabbing fingers at each other over who to blame. "But I try to keep a positive outlook, that there are good people in this world," says the Medford resident. "Every now and then you find someone who restores your faith in humanity. "It makes you feel good all over to know that there are wonderful, honest people out there — that there are people of integrity," she adds. Advertisement As she talks she plays with two diamond rings on her right hand. One was her mother's engagement ring. "This other one was my grandmother's little finger ring," she explains of the one on her little pinky. "It was my grandmother's ring and I'm 82. She died when she was 80 in 1958. I remember when she wore it years ago." She also remembers discovering it had gone missing in the summer of 2005. "I really felt bad about losing it," says the Chicago native. "I wore it all the time. I looked everywhere for that ring. I finally gave up on ever getting it back." Until she met a fellow named Sean Carter, that is. But we'll meet him a bit later. Not only was the ring a family heirloom but it wasn't cheap. The antique ring has a large white diamond set in platinum. "Finger rings were very popular in the early 1900s," she says. "Back then, they wore wedding rings and finger rings." Her ancestral ring bearer lived in the Chicago area, where her grandfather Charles M. Hayes became a footnote in history as the founder of the American Automobile Association's School Safety Patrol program. Bernhardt is a former school teacher who graduated from UCLA, majoring in mathematics and psychology, moving to Oregon in 1978. With her children grown, Bernhardt, who is no longer married, has been teaching line dancing to seniors since 1985. She gets them racing at 160 steps a minute at the Medford and Ashland senior centers as well as the Rogue Valley Manor and the Mountain Meadows Retirement Home. "I get a big thrill out of seeing widowed women who think their lives are over until someone drags them to line dancing at a senior center," she says. "They discover there is life after you are widowed or divorced." She also enjoys fishing. That's why she bought a 1988 Ford Bronco years ago to go on fishing expeditions with friends. But after more than 200,000 miles, she decided to trade it in. "We did a lot of fishing with it," she says. "I figured we could still get something out of it. A lot of guys like Broncos." She took it to the Used Car Factory in Medford on July 2, and traded it in for a small Ford pickup truck. An hour after she traded in the Bronco, the phone rang. It was Sean Carter, the firm's sales manager. "He said they were almost finished detailing it when they found a ring," she recalls. "He had noticed I had a nice ring on my hand when I was in. He wondered if I had lost a ring." Down at the Used Car Factory, Carter recalls that day. "I was getting ready to wholesale the car," he says. "My detail guy (Hugo Olivera) found the ring. I immediately came inside and called Dorothy. I remember she had been wearing jewelry and figured it might be hers." Carter, who has been selling cars in the Rogue Valley for more than 20 years, shrugs off doing the right thing. "I would hope someone would do the same for me and my wife if something like that ever happened to us," he says. "But she's a sweetheart for saying nice things about us." He knows that some professions, deservedly or not, don't have sterling reputations. That includes used car sales folks, politicians, attorneys and — OK, fine, since you are already thinking it — journalists. "Yeah, you guys get it, too," Bernhardt acknowledges of our rank reputation. "But it just goes to show how wrong people can be. When he found that ring, he didn't have to call me." She holds up her pinky finger to look at the sparkling diamond ring. "This is a symbol of my faith in our fellow man," she says. "With so many things that are happening now, creating so much fear and doubt among the American people, it nice to know there are still people like that out there." Somewhere Diogenes is smiling. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or at [email protected] Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Texas Electric Choice Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews Online poker at AbsolutePoker.com