A Thrifting Mystery (on Vinyl)

One day this past October, I decided to go to some thrift stores — I had some extra time on my hands. I went to two of my favorites: the Goodwill off Slaughter and Brodie, and the Austin Pets Alive! Thrift off Oltorf. I went to the record sections at each place. My grandfather was a jazz musician, and I have fond memories of growing up going to his performances, so I was thrilled to find The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn, as well as some other records. I needed to get to the school pickup line on time, so I bought the albums without checking the actual records inside and just went about my day.

That evening, while dinner was simmering on the stove, I went to put on one of my new records. As I went to take the album out of the sleeve, it said “Phil and Donna’s Wedding, August 21st, 1966.” I was confused, but put the record on out of curiosity. I thought, is this really a recording of someone’s wedding? At the beginning of the album, you can hear a crowd murmuring and a man asking the audience to start the ceremony. My daughters looked up from their homework, and we just looked at each other in shock. I remember we went to the record player, and I was just lifting up the arm, dropping it randomly throughout the album. You could hear the ceremony in Hebrew, the woman’s soft voice as she said her vows, and at the end, the traditional breaking of the glass. My daughters and I were just floored by this turn of events. We laughed a little bit, and then we also said that we cannot believe that this is happening.

I immediately knew that this record was donated by mistake, and if it was my family, I would want to give it back. The only problem is, I had no idea how to do that. While the thrift stores I went to are local donations, they don’t keep track of who donates what or how long it had been there. A few nights later — some friends of ours have whiskey and vinyl nights, and we were having that night — I brought up this random record that I had found and said that I wanted to return it but didn’t know how. Someone suggested that I should contact KXAN Investigates. I thought this was a great idea. So the next morning, I go online and fill out the online form for KXAN Investigates. And amazingly, Kelsey Thompson, an amazing reporter, gets back to me. She’s willing to help me, so we set up a meeting for the following week.

At that meeting, Kelsey and I hatch a plan on how we are going to find the mysterious Donna and Phil. Kelsey contacts the Travis County Clerk’s office, but that’s a dead end, because no Phil and Donna had gotten married that day in Texas. Then, since it was a Jewish ceremony, I emailed several synagogues in the area to see if they had been active in any congregations. That weekend, KXAN runs the story online asking the community for help, and there’s even a segment on the evening news.

After the story ran, I get several Facebook messages. One is from a woman named Emily who grew up in Austin. She said that her childhood friend Lauren’s parents were named Phil and Donna. She thinks it is them and will contact the family and get back to me. I also hear back from a rabbi who said that he had a Phil and Donna in his congregation, but they had recently moved. He would check to see if it was them and then call me back. He also invited me to a monthly jazz night that he puts on at the Cactus Cafe. That night, I just cannot contain my excitement. I contact Kelsey, tell her I think we have found them, thank her so much for her help, and we both agree that this is just too cool.

The next morning, I get an email from the actual Donna. She introduces herself and even shares pictures from their wedding. Isn’t she so precious? She is so warm, even over email. She says that they got married in California, and then they moved to Texas, where Phil was a professor at the University of Texas for over 40 years. During their time in Austin, they were deeply involved in the community and raised their children here. They recently moved to Denver to be closer to family. They had an estate sale, and what didn’t sell got donated — the record had indeed been donated by mistake. So not only did we find them, but they are an incredible couple who will celebrate their 59th wedding anniversary this year. I know. She asked Kelsey and I about ourselves, we share pictures of our family, and we get to know each other a little bit. KXAN runs a follow-up article and says thank you so much to the community for their help in finding Phil and Donna — that we found them.

And then I get a phone call from a number I don’t recognize. It is a producer for ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, and they would like to cover our story for the segment America Strong. From there, our story explodes: the Washington Post, the New York Post, the Daily Mail, People online, and some others — they all cover our story. Phil and Donna’s synagogue in Denver even does a sermon about us. Donna and I get to know each other over email and text. We are just blown away by this turn of events, and we check in with each other and make sure that each one is comfortable doing each article or interview beforehand. Then a couple days later — it is actually Thanksgiving break — Phil and Donna’s son Danny and his family just happen to be in town for the holiday. Our families meet up, and I return the record. He has it digitized and sends me a copy.

Donna and I still email each other with updates, and recently she included our adventure in their family’s yearly update and even dubbed me an honorary Schmidt. And then last month, they came to Austin and we got to have dinner together. I just still can’t believe how this new friend has come into my life. I took the rabbi up on his offer and had a wonderful time at the Cactus Cafe. Phil and Donna’s lives were led with love and kindness, and they really did leave a lasting impact on the Austin community. During our interview with As It Happens, the podcast host asked Donna about her marriage advice. She gave an answer that has stuck with me, and I feel like it really just relates to all relationships. She said, “You find joy in each day and take one day at a time. You love each other and respect each other.” Thank you.