Serendipi-key

Mary Beth Lawlor lost her keys in the middle of a snowstorm on December 19.

There is nothing quite like being locked out of your car in the bitter cold during a snowstorm and having no clue what happened to your keys.

"I went downtown to Men's Night to shop and I parked behind First Federal Savings Bank next to Grover's Hardware. I went up to Mung Bean, bought a couple of things, then went back to my car when I discovered that my keys were missing," Lawlor said.

After searching for her keys with no success, she walked up the street to Good N You Fuel & Service on Townsend Avenue and spoke with Ronnie Babcock.

"Mary Beth told me that she lost her car keys while shopping downtown and wondered if I would be able to help her. Given the nature of the situation and the time of day, I told her that she would have to check back with me the following morning as I needed to contact a Volvo dealer," Babcock said.

The next morning arrived and the first customer of the day at Good N You was another woman, this time with a tire problem.

"Kathy Young, who used to live in the apartment above our gas station, said that she heard a ticking sound coming from her rear tire and asked if I could check it out," Babcock said.

Further investigating revealed a metal object stuck in the tire.

Though badly mangled, because of his experience, Babcock was able to recognize the object as a key. Not just any key, but a Volvo key.

"I got a call at work from Kathy Young and she told me that a key was recovered and that it just might be the one to my car," Lawlor said.

Babcock offered to walk down to the car and clean off the snow to see if the key would fit...and it did.

"Kathy told me that the first time she realized that something was wrong was when she was driving to the top of Kenneyfield Drive and she heard a clicking noise," Lawlor said.

Lawlor's House is at the top of Kenneyfield Drive.

It was the only key from her keychain recovered.

Both women work for St. Andrews Hospital.

Any questions?