Think Outside The Piggy Bank

finding wallets 1 2 3

Here are three stories about finding wallets. The first one is hopeful, the second one kind of amusing, and the third one sort of sad.

Krissa sent me a link (thanks Krissa!) to the first one about a Brooklyn fifth-grader who found and returned a wallet that had over $500 cash in it. The boy did the right thing of course as we shouldn't keep what isn't ours, and was duly rewarded by the owner with a $100 bill. He spent half of it on toys and is planning to use the rest of the money to buy his mom presents for Valentine's Day. Now that is sweet! But would you believe that in the comment section there were adults who actually called him an idiot for not keeping the $500? Who rationalized that if you lose that type of money you don't deserve to get it back? Unreal. Luckily the little kid had a lot more class.

Now the second story involves yours truly. Walking to work two weekends ago I found a wallet on the road but because I was in a hurry and it was early in the morning I took it to work with me to deal with it later. Unfortunately though someone had already gotten to it before me, stole whatever cash and credit cards had been in there, and unceremoniously dumped it where I found it. But there was lots of personal ID in it (and photos as well) so I knew the person would want it back. As it turned out the rightful owner (a wee slip of a girl in her early twenties) was only two blocks away from home so I returned it after my shift. She was overjoyed but also apologetic for not being able to give me any money as obviously there wasn't any left. I told her not to worry, that it wasn't necessary, and that it wasn't why I had returned it. But she did offer what she could: a joint! Well, she first asked me if I smoked weed to which I replied no, but then I told her that a friend of mine did thinking I could pass it along. So she handed me what was left of what she'd been smoking as we were speaking in her doorway, and I just laughed and told her it was okay. But I tell you though; if it had been on a Sunday night and I didn't have to go back in the next morning I might have just taken it and finished it on the way home!

The last story involves the friend I was going to pass the joint along to. When I told him what happened, he recounted his found wallet tale. When he came across a kid's wallet a few months ago he tracked down the parents after looking them up in the phone book. Upon calling they didn't seem too eager to come pick it up so he offered to drop it off. As it turns out they lived in a pretty upscale neighbourhood, but their manners sure didn't match. Now my friend, like myself, wasn't expecting a reward as such, but felt a little bit insulted when they didn't even thank him. And they didn't even grab their kid to come say thanks either! Just took the wallet and shut the door.

So what's the moral of these three tales? First, that you return things that don't belong to you because that's what civilized people do. Second, you do so not because of any hoped-for reward, but because of your moral code. And third, as eloquently put by Confucius himself:

Act with kindness, but do not expect gratitude.

a day of hope

But first, did you know that January 19th was Blue Monday -- the saddest day of the year? Not surprising I guess as the holidays are over, resolutions are broken, the bills have come in, and by now we're fed up with the snow, slush, lack of sun, and the long dark nights. I must say though that when the clerk I'd been grumbling to informed me of the status of the day, it cheered me up immediately! I suppose it was comforting to know that it wasn't just me. 

How fortunate then to have the saddest day followed by such an incredible day. If up to two million people attended the inauguration in person, how many more worldwide were witness to this historic ceremony on TV, radio, or Internet? And will January 20th ever come to be officially known as the day of hope, the day when things finally turned around? Certainly this event was not just important to Americans, because although America often acts as if it's the most important sibling within the global family, all nations have a stake in this. And while I have to admit that I was initially disappointed with not having a woman become president (Palin was nothing but embarrassing), I came to realize that Clinton would never have the unifying power that Obama so quickly displayed. Yesterday was a historic day for all citizens of the world no matter what happens from now on, so my only quibble I suppose is that it would have been nice if President Obama had somehow been able to curb the cost of this grand event. If he had insisted that at least part of the $160 million be diverted into starting to solve some of the economic problems in his country, then that would have been impressive indeed!

speaking of time...

Where did it go? Last time I looked it was still 2008! And I've always thought that time is strange anyway. It speeds up when you're having fun or are engrossed in something, slows to a crawl when you're bored or waiting, and definitely feels different the older you get. And time travel? Don't get me started. I should know by now not to watch any movies featuring this theme as I go crazy trying to figure out the logistics. So in a way I felt somewhat comforted when I read of the physicist Julian Barbour who doesn't even think that time exists, that it's simply an illusion and a product of human perception, but the comfort didn't last, and wasn't shared, snort.

But I digress. I meant to say that it's that time of year again to break or forget all those resolutions! Not. I actually don't believe in making resolutions, although I do like to take stock of the year that went by, think of whatever had been accomplished or that I'm grateful for, and then figure out what my hopes are for the upcoming year. Doable goals make a lot more sense to me, and over the years I've learned that being clear about your intentions is often the quick start that's needed. I haven't quite decided yet what my aims for this year are, although I think finding another job and possibly going back to school are on top of the list. I say possibly for school because I believe you're not allowed to do the fourth year part-time (I'll be checking next week), and since I don't want to do it full-time, I may have to nix this goal. What I do want to change though is getting back on track with my three blogs and Flickr. For various reasons they've been getting short shrift, and that has got to stop.

What about you? Have you thought about what you'd like to see change?