A former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant is thanking the kindness of a stranger for the recovery of some treasured mementos. Ricki Lake, who competed with Derek Hough on season 13 of DWTS, lost her Malibu, California home in January during the wildfires.
Now, Lake shared via Instagram, she experienced a “miracle” that has a tie to that heartbreaking loss. The miracle came via a stranger.
A Stranger Found Photos of Ricki Lake at a Flea Market
On December 9, Lake took to Instagram to share her happy news with fans. In the caption, she wrote, “I’m speechless. Here is a happy story for your holiday season!”
Lake noted it had been nearly a year since she lost her home to the wildfire. She explained that since that experience, she “made peace with the fact that my photographs and memorabilia [were] gone.”
Unbeknownst to her, however, a box of her old photographs somehow made its way to a flea market in Pasadena, California. A woman named Patty Scanlon bought a box of miscellaneous photos at the flea market and recognized that some of them included Lake.
Scanlon and Lake “met” one another via an Instagram Live that the “Dancing with the Stars” alum shared on Instagram. Scanlon explained that recently, she just felt a need to get out of the house. “It’s like the universe drove me to get your pictures,” she noted.
She shared that she’s an artist, and sometimes she looks at old photos for inspiration. At the flea market, she was looking through a box of photos at the first booth she came across. She paid him $20 for the box, having no idea the treasures it held.
When Scanlon realized she recognized Lake in some of the photos, she hopped on social media to share her story. She hoped someone who had a connection to Lake would see it, and that’s exactly what happened.
Lake exclaimed, “These pictures are so priceless to me. They would be anyway, Patty, but the fact that I lost all of these images in the fire in January, I mean, I thought they were gone forever.”
The DWTS Is Deeply Grateful & Happy for the Efforts This Stranger Made
“It was such a heartache, and such a painful thing to kind of come to terms with that all of these memories are no longer in front of me, they’re just in my mind and heart now,” Lake shared. She added, “But the fact that you found these is unbelievable.”
She also told Scanlon, “The fact that I’m gonna get something back that I thought was lost forever…it makes me so happy.”
Lake added, “You know, we all need good news these days, and this is leaving me with such a beautiful feeling about the human race. Good things happen to good people, and I really appreciate you so much, Patty.”
Scanlon talked about the serendipitous experience to CBS LA. She thinks that perhaps whoever it was that Lake sent a letter and photos to years ago kept the items tucked away in a box. Scanlon believes that the box later ended up at an estate sale.
“It was like it was meant to be, it was like this thing in the universe that just said, ‘You’re gonna get those photos, and you’re gonna give them to Ricki,” Scanlon added.
Thanks for the valuable insights!
See, there are some good people that are good souls. If I was Ricki, I would donate a big check to the founder’s charity of her choosing.