The Mystery Bag

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Someone dropped a bag of stuff at our door this morning. It was on top of the paper when my aunt went out to get the paper.

It is a black nylon duffle bag, not too large. My aunt zipped it open to reveal a selection of nice Christmasy things: gift cards, a blanket, chocolates, little gift bags containing pretty golden chimes. There was a metal tin. We opened it to reveal a little statue of an angel, and a thick envelope.

So far, there was absolutely no indication who it was from, and no indication who it was for. The envelope had a picture of an angel and a verse carefully taped to the outside… but no names or any other writing.

My aunt opened the envelope to see whether it would shed some light on the mystery. Gift cards and cash fell out. A lot of cash. I scooped it up and handed it to her and she put it back in the card.

There were no names, of any sort.

We put everything back in the bag and closed it. The bag is now sitting on the kitchen counter, being enigmatic. We have no idea who dropped this thing off or why. We don’t know who it belongs to or who to give it to.

Is it for some official co-op function? Usually, when co-op material arrives, it will have a name or unit number on it.

Does it belong to a neighbour? No-one has called to inquire about it.

Should we be calling the police and reporting a missing bag?

If it had some indication who it was from or who it was for, we’d have some idea what to do.

The bag is now on the dining-room table. The mystery remains.

2

What a fun, if slightly nerve-wracking surprise! I’d guess that if you set it aside as is for a week whomever sent it will either inquire of you (who was meant to receive it) or of the correct recipient who’ll come to you when it’s realized to have been mis-delivered.
I wouldn’t be shocked that someone feels strongly for your family and wants to show they care but fear it will embarrass you (for whatever reason, people can be odd when it comes to gift-giving).
May all your surprises be so sweet!

3

Is your or your aunt’s name on the bag or the cards? Are you guys in a situation where you need help? Have you reached out to anybody about it recently?

ETA: Ah, gotcha, no names. What about my other questions?

4

Well, I ran into one of the people from the church at the mall on Friday (I was leaving the library, and she saw me). We chatted about stuff, and I said that I was primarily feeling grateful about things; my unemployment insurance payment had come in, and she was the one who had called me about a web dev contract that saved my butt this month, so I thanked her for that again… but then somehow I got talking about the irony of having half of a bitcoin in an encrypted disk image
that I can’t unlock, and how I really would like to pay for my aunt’s dentistry with it, because bitcoins are up to around $11000 Canadian right now, and then mentioning that we’d been having difficulty after I got laid off, but then I said that the hard part was over!

There are hints that it was arranged for two people, in that some of the items are in pairs. And the angel figurine was the same style as one my aunt already has. Those are the only hints.

But without an actual name on it, neither of us feel like it’s ours. Maybe we’ll take it to the co-op office tomorrow.

5

I bet it is donation. Especially since you talked to a church member recently. I might would wait a week or two and see if the cat gets let out of the bag, so to speak.

6

Yes, I think we’ll wait a week and see what happens…

7

It sounds as if a group of people got together and donated small items to make sure you two have a nice Christmas. Is the money a little haphazard, like it came from different people’s wallets? Or is it neat and crisp,as if it came from a bank? And it’s not unusual for office people to have a build-up of bags like that from various laptops or conference giveaways. I would reach into that pile if I were putting together a donation of this sort for drop-off.

It would have been nice if they’d included a note with your names on it. But the bag of goods is certainly yours/Aunt’s now.

8

“A lot of cash” is the wild card here. Are we talking a few tens and twenties, or some serious abandoned drug money?

9

$400. A lot for us.

10

I doubt it’s abandoned, since it was put on top of the newspaper. It looks like it was put there to be found.

Does your church have something like a mitzvah committee? A group that would be charged with keeping an eye out for parishioners who might be in need of something? If it does, you could ask the chair of the committee if they had a request to do something for you. You really should know, because you need to know what to do with this money.

I had a similar dilemma, though on a much smaller scale, when someone slipped $20 under my door a couple of months ago. I went to the door, but didn’t see who did it.

I decided not to report it to the landlord, because on the off-chance that one of my neighbors was dealing weed of something on a very small scale, I didn’t want to get them busted, because for one thing, I think anti-pot laws are stupid, and another, and bigger one, was that I didn’t want retaliation.

I held onto it for a week, and decided after that it was mine. It’s not like if someone came bu three or four weeks later, I couldn’t come up with twenty bucks, but at this point, it’s been months, and I seriously doubt that whoever made the mistake is going to come back for it. Either they were doing something illicit, or they can’t remember what door they put it under.

I get that this is more than $20, though. What I don’t know is whether we’re talking closer to $100, or more like $1,000. And I don’t expect the OP to disclose, but I understand that it plays into the decision over what to do with the money.

If the OP really thinks it goes back to the church, then I’d ask some questions there. Why not? Or is there something about churches that I’m not getting?

11

Not enough to suspect drug money., Unless it was some kid at a low level.

Possibly some ill-gotten money being camouflaged. What’s in that bag, kid? Oh, just a few gifts for my aunt in the hospital.

12

Mystery solved! As I came home from the job-search place, library, drugstore, and grocery store this aft, my aunt said that she’d found a card in the mailbox. It mentioned that they, whoever ‘they’ were, had forgotten to include the card in the bag. The bag is definitely a gift for my aunt… from ‘the neighbours’. So it must be co-op people. The hint provided by the angel figurine was true. :slight_smile:

13

Happy news (and happy holidays to you both)!

14

We are now putting together a Thank You message for the co-op newsletter.

15

I know this must make your family feel cared for; such a sweet gesture!

16

I love it! Definitely a gift from an angel :slight_smile:

17

Well, good! I am happy for you .

18

Nice to hear about a mystery solved with good news! :slight_smile: