Yesterday, I visited a jeans store in an outlet mall; after trying on several pair of jeans I realized that my wallet was missing. An extensive search revealed nothing. Backtracking to other stores I had visited with my sister revealed nothing.
This morning, my sister and I set out to the drivers license bureau to renew my license and just as we exited our town house development, her cell phone rang; the wallet had been found in the jeans store, in a place where it shouldn’t have been. We immediately drove back to the mall, went to the jeans outlet and my wallet and I had a passionate reunion. All of my cards, including my ATM card were in the wallet although the $50.00 cash was gone. My sister and the clerk on duty think they know who copped the money, but so what? I honestly don’t believe any of the staff took it; they all pitched in to help look for it and, as I say, it was far away from where I was shopping, but in the same store. As soon as we missed it, I called my bank and canceled the ATM card, so now I have to wait for a new one to be mailed.
I had intended to spread the $50.00 bucks as reward money; I borrowed $50.00 from my sister but not a one of the clerks would accept a penny; I offered to buy them lunch and they wouldn’t accept that either. I guess there are a few decent people left out there and all’s well that ends well. I do intend to write a letter to their headquarters, praising their employees.
Congratulations on having it returned. I had a similar experience with my cell phone. at the time it was a Treo 650 and I had everything on it, including some sensitive information. I figure I must have lost it just as I left my building one morning when I bent down to tie my shoe, but because I was listening to my iPod I didn’t hear it drop. I thought I’d lost it and even looked for it on the way home that day, but after not finding it I figured it was lost. Amazingly, the next day someone called from a building next to mine and told me they had found it – I guess it took them a while to figure out how to use it and find my number. (It was in my phone as “Home” so I guess it wasn’t hard to figure out.) I went over and picked it up and thanked the woman who found it.
It was the last time I kept my phone (or anything else) on my belt though. Now I only keep stuff in pockets.
So yeah, there are still a few decent honest people left.
I believe I’ve found three wallets in my life. It’s a really good feeling to see the look on the person’s face when you return it to them.
The first time it happened, the owner was really happy. His wallet had documentation that allowed him to stay in the US. If he lost it, he’d have to go back to the USSR.
I recently lost my wallet, too. I had been driving all over our semi-rural area, buying tomatoes here, eggs there, and figs in another place. I only noticed it was missing that evening when we went to dinner. I tried retracing my steps and calling everywhere I visited, but no luck. I had, however, entirely forgotten my visit to the fig stand, where I was a bit discombobulated by the fact that no one was tending it and I was looking for a place to leave my $5 so that they’d find it. In the confusion, I set my wallet down and left it there. When I finally remembered, I went back, and the folks who lived at the farm had it safe and were in the process of trying to figure out how to contact me. Whew!
I was recently at a big concert, just outside of the amphitheater by where they were selling t-shirts and stuff. I looked down and saw an iPod touch on the ground. I picked it up and yelled out, “did someone lose an iPod?”
It belonged to a young teen who was there with her mother. The reactions were amusing. The girl grabbed it out of my hands, took a look at it and said, “yeah, it’s mine” and then started playing a game on it or something. Not a word of thanks. The mom was visibly floored that I tried to find the owner and didn’t pocket it. She kept telling me over and over how honest I was and offered to buy me a $35 t-shirt. I refused her offer.
I had left my wallet at the gas pumps one time. I didn’t know where I had left it, just that I’d lost it. I happened to go to the drug store a day or two after that. One of the clerks there said “Oh, I found your wallet!” and handed it to me.
In an odd twist of fate, she had come to the gas station right after me, had recognized my photo on the drivers’ license and brought it to the drug store, thinking I’d be by soon. And sure enough, I was. What a nice person she is.
Hopefully, at the very least, the girl will get it eventually. Maybe she’ll lose something and not get it back, or it’ll hit her when she’s older and has developed an empathy chip. Either way, it may have helped her become a better person, some way, one day.
My ex borrowed a bag of mine once, left it under the table in a bar whilst dancing, and of course it was stolen. Naturally all the contents, including a wallet, and my bag (dammit! it was the zip-off backpack off the front of my rucksack) were gone. We cancelled all the cards and carried on with life. About a week later, the wallet and all its contents (minus cash) arrived back through the post. It turned out whoever stole the bag must’ve dropped the wallet into a post box, the post office sent it to my partner’s bank, and they sent it back. Corporate niceness, and a thief who was at least slightly bothered about who they’d hit. (I still keep my eye out for that bag, though it’s about eleven years ago now. I want to reunite it with the motherbag.)
I once left my Palm, which was in a case I also used as a wallet, at the library. Later that day, I got a call from the librarian. They’d found it in the book drop. Whoever found it had taken $40 cash from it, but the cards and PDA were fine. I chose to consider that as a happy an ending as I could hope for, in that situation.
it is common for pickpockets and purse snatchers to do that. they take only cash so no evidence is found on them. a mailbox can’t be searched through by a witness so it is better than a garbage can.
