Man Gets Message From Stranger Online, Not Prepared for W...

By Alice Gibbs

Senior Life and Trends Reporter

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A California man received an unexpected blast from the past after a stranger discovered his 43-year-old college report card tucked inside a vintage copy of Steve Nicks’ Bella Donna album—purchased hundreds of miles away from where he originally traded it in.

Brinke Guthrie, a longtime radio professional from the San Francisco Bay Area, said he was stunned when a man messaged him on Instagram earlier this month, after finding a University of Cincinnati report card from spring quarter 1982 inside a vinyl record his girlfriend had purchased at a pop-up record sale in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

In a post on Threads, Guthrie shared the unexpected story where it has gained hundreds of likes.

“I got a DM from a guy on Instagram. It seems he bought a vinyl promo copy of the 1981 Steve Nicks album Bella Donna on Nov. 9th at a pop up record store in Chapel Hill,” he wrote. “He asked if I had attended the University of Cincinnati in Spring ’82. Well, yes—that’s me.”

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A Record Store Mystery From 1982

Guthrie believes the report card ended up in the album decades ago while he was working in Cincinnati radio at Q102-FM between 1980 and 1993.

“I worked at Q102 and must have taken that promo copy of Bella Donna to trade in at a local record store—probably Everybody’s Records,” Guthrie told Newsweek. “For some reason I stuck my report card inside. I have no idea why.”

The album, a 1981 promo copy of Steve Nicks’ debut solo record, apparently remained untouched for more than four decades before resurfacing at the North Carolina record event.

Pristine Condition After 43 Years

The Instagram user who contacted Guthrie offered to mail the document back. When it arrived, Guthrie said it looked as though it had “been printed yesterday” despite being more than 40 years old.

“He just sent the report card—I didn’t need the album,” Guthrie said.

After sharing the story on Threads, people shared their reactions to the unexpected find in the comments.

“That's cool. And a pretty solid semester!” said mikesbackrunning. While user startreknuts wrote: “That is awesome! High five to him for returning it to you!!”

This is not the first time a long lost item has found its way back to a rightful owner. In 2021 a woman found her wallet 46 years after losing it at a California theater.

Another unexpected story saw a woman find her long-lost wedding ring in a backyard in Georgia after 20 years without it.

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