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\nGARY GADDIST is an unassuming and hardworking city Parks Department worker who picks up trash in lower Manhattan five days a week.<\/p>\n
But to Danielle Hatherley Carroll, Gaddist is lord of the ring.<\/p>\n
On her behalf, Gaddist went on a quest to find the wedding ring she had lost in the garbage. And against all odds, he found it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really was like looking for a needle in a haystack,\u201d Gaddist said Thursday.<\/p>\n
Carroll said her gold band has nine little diamonds embedded in it, but Gaddist is the real gem. \u201cThis guy did something he didn\u2019t have to do, and I find that amazing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe story of how Gaddist reunited Carroll with her ring began sometime Sunday, when she first lost it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a painter who takes people on outdoor painting adventures around New York City,\u201d said Carroll, 45, who moved here six years ago from Australia. \u201cOn Sunday, I was teaching a painting class in Battery Park all day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Painting is messy work, so Carroll brought along a clear garbage bag where she and her students dumped their rags after cleaning up with a \u201cslippery hand cleaner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so busy that day and cleaning my hands constantly that I didn\u2019t notice I had lost the ring,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until 3:30 a.m. Monday when Carroll woke up in her East Village apartment that she realized \u201cthe ring was gone.\u201d Her husband, Steve Carroll, bought the band last year to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary \u2014 and to replace one she lost years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want my husband to get upset with me, so I was going to sneak out and find a police officer to help me look,\u201d she said. \u201cBut he awoke and said, \u2018You\u2019re out of your mind. I\u2019m coming along to help you.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
They drove back to Battery Park and found the garbage container where she had dumped the trash bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure enough, it had been emptied,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Carroll said she was on the verge of tears when her hubby spotted a city Parks Department trash truck around 5 a.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018I\u2019ll bet you anything it\u2019s in there,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cWe walked over and nobody was inside. So I wrote a note.\u201d<\/p>\n
It began: \u201cHello, I believe my wedding ring is in this truck.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I put it under the front windscreen,\u201d she said, using the Aussie expression for windshield.<\/p>\n
Enter Gary Gaddist.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cI found this note and it was great, just so honest,\u201d the 42-year-old Brooklyn dad said. \u201cSo I called and she explained everything, about how she lost the ring, and how she couldn\u2019t sleep after realizing it was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gaddist, who has worked for the city for 12 years, said he told the couple it would be \u201ciffy\u201d but he would look for the ring. That was around 7:30 a.m. Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to go to Randalls Island, and when I got there I showed the guys the note,\u201d he said. \u201cThey said, \u2018If you want to look for a needle in a haystack, go ahead.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\nGaddist said he\u2019d collected thousands of pounds of garbage, which was now sitting inside hundreds of black plastic bags at a Parks Department facility on the island.<\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily, it didn\u2019t take me long to find the one with the clear plastic garbage bag inside,\u201d he said. \u201cI took a shot and it was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Around 8:30 a.m., Gaddist called Carroll with the good news.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was ecstatic, I started to cry,\u201d she said. \u201cI hopped in a cab and raced down to meet him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked why he would go the extra mile for a complete stranger, Gaddist said \u201cit was a love thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe sounded like a nice person, and I could tell she and her husband love each other,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m glad I could help.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Siemaszko, Corky.\u00a0 “LORD OF THE RING! Parks worker digs thru trash to find wedding band”. NY Daily News. 24 August 2012. Web.<\/p>\n
View original good news article at nydailynews.com:<\/p>\n