Lost and Found

some of the crazy things his old man did in basic. But then I realized I hadn’t seen it since I brought it home in 1987. I really wanted to show my son that book, but I didn’t know where it was. I looked all over the place. I asked my mom but she had no idea what she did with it.”

Having searched everywhere and realizing that his mother may have given his book away, or donated it or even thrown it away, Scotty realizes he’ll have to look for a similar book online. He searches for the yearbook’s printer and finds the company, but can’t find the book from the year he was in basic training.

Then a simple Google search leads to an eBay listing for a yearbook from 1987 — just what he’s looking for. From the photo in the eBay listing, Scotty knows that’s the book he wants and buys it for $20.

The book arrives on Nov. 30 and Scotty smiles as he sees the cover. It brings back lots of memories. When he opens the cover, however, he realizes immediately that there’s something very strange about this book.

“It had my name written right there on the first page,” he said. “It said ‘Scotty E. Hancock’ and right at first I thought ‘ This guy I bought it from saw my picture inside and wrote my name to be nice.’ But then my wife said ‘Scotty, that’s YOUR writing.’”

He realizes that it is his writing. And suddenly it dawns on him. This is his book. Not just one from his graduation year, but the book he owned. The pages confirm this. Writing covers the inside pages — messages from his buddies in basic training. Scotty can’t believe his luck. It turns out that the person he bought it from got the book from a book store in Columbus.

“My mother or sister must have sold it or it got caught up in books that were donated,” Scotty said.

Whatever its journey, it’s clear that Scotty Hancock was meant to have this book. He smiles when reading the hand-written messages it contains and grimaces when he remembers the grueling hours of basic training. But he wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.

“These were some of the best days of my life,” he says as he points to the photos in the book. “They were hard but they changed me for the better. They taught me so much about myself and the world outside Lindale and about people. This was a time when I needed structure in my life. These experiences, and the love of a good wife, have made me the man I am today.”