Well there goes that lense... - DPChallenge Forums

11/06/2005 09:50:29 AM · #1

Roxanne - you were right! One day it would pay off. Problem is I am too honest to take advantage...

I was on my stretch of adopted highway picking up trash this morning. At the very end of one of the pull-offs I was about to turn around when a reflection caught my eye. I walk over expecting to find a can or something in the leaves. But no, it is a wallet with a flex band watch around it. I open the wallet and there is $1134.00, all credit cards, drivers license and everything. Obviously dropped/lost and not stolen.

I toyed with the idea for a few minutes but just knew I couldn't keep it. Then I glanced at the date of birth on the license and the pic - he didn't look it, but his date of birth made him out to be 74. I figured this must be a huge sum of money for him so I turned the wallet, cash and all, and watch into the Williamstown Police for return to the person.

And it is not like I couldn't have used the money - truck needs tires and I really want a macro lense. Oh well.

ngremour

Nikon D70

11/06/2005 09:56:02 AM · #2

you'll feel way better about yourself in the long run for having given it back than you would with a lens or some tires. you just never know if that guy needed that money for medication or whatever. way to go, you definitely made the right choice.

nick

deapee

Kodak V803

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS

11/06/2005 09:58:34 AM · #3

Man I would have kept the cash...Carrying 1000 in cash in your wallet, you better not lose it. I bet he'd have been happy to get his license and credit cards back. Truthfully, I am being honest...so don't ever lose your wallet around me. :-D

EDIT: oh the cops probably kept the cash, called the man and said everything was in there...then when he came and said it was missing cash they probably just played dumb.

Message edited by author 2005-11-06 09:59:21.

Strikeslip

Canon EOS-5D

11/06/2005 10:05:25 AM · #4

Good for you, that's good karma. The same has happened to me, but I just looked the guy up in the phonebook & gave him a call. It's nice to be decent. Hopefully they'll pass that behaviour on to other people. What a great planet it would be to live on if everyone were just decent to each other.

dswebb

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS

11/06/2005 10:08:12 AM · #5

I second the thought, GOOD FOR YOU. You did the right thing, be proud of yourself!

Doug

11/06/2005 10:12:50 AM · #6

Originally posted by deapee:

...so don't ever lose your wallet around me. :-D

Ha! I don't even own a wallet - never have. I hate carrying those things and they leave wear marks on your pants and they are wicked uncomfortable to sit on. I think the last wallet I ever owned was also the first and I was like 15 or 16.

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS

11/06/2005 10:14:14 AM · #7

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

Good for you, that's good karma.

I hope so. I figure the 100.00 I found the other day with the lottery winnings from the only scratch lottery ticket I ever bought were enough. This must have been a test or something. I hope I passed.

Strikeslip

Canon EOS-5D

11/06/2005 05:24:37 PM · #8

Originally posted by Alienyst:

I hope I passed.

That's an 'A'. To get an 'A+" you'd have to put more money into the wallet before turning it in. ;-)

Prof_Fate

11/06/2005 05:30:35 PM · #9

So how do you suppose it got there? Dropped, or thrown out the window of a moving car?

You did the right thing, but the temptation to keep the cash and dump the rest in teh nearest mailbox would have been very great indeed.

I'm sure Karma will reward you. Perhaps the wallet owner will pass along a reward to you!

Pedro

Nikon D200

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED

11/06/2005 05:36:20 PM · #10

Originally posted by deapee:

Pathetic.

Art Roflmao

Canon EOS-6D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS

11/06/2005 05:44:11 PM · #11

You're still broke...

...but Karma is pleased. :)

Well done, grasshopper.

deapee

Kodak V803

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

11/06/2005 05:45:25 PM · #12

Originally posted by Pedro:

Originally posted by deapee:
Man I would have kept the cash...Carrying 1000 in cash in your wallet, you better not lose it. I bet he'd have been happy to get his license and credit cards back. Truthfully, I am being honest...so don't ever lose your wallet around me. :-D

Pathetic.

whatever...I was honest...if you don't agree, there are other ways to express that rather than calling me names. But I am great at that too if you want to go that route...just let me know.

rox_rox

Canon EOS-20D

11/06/2005 05:47:11 PM · #13

Wow Chris!
That didn't take very long to happen. Makes one wonder just how much money is laying around on the side of the road.

You say you are too honest to take advantage, but I believe that you did take advantage by your actions. It seems that Slippy shares my philosophy of "interconnectivity", by which all good deeds are passed on and on until they are finally returned to the originator.

Regardless of who's money it was, or how they acquired it, you did the right thing. Kudos!
Roxanne

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

11/06/2005 05:49:02 PM · #14

what comes around goes around.

you will receive when least expecting for your honesty.

FotoMunki

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM

11/06/2005 06:03:20 PM · #15

Alienyst, you are the man! A similar thing happened to me when I was 18. I found a wallet with $400 and a YMCA card in it. There was a lot I could have done with $400 at 18 (still some Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith albums I didn't own yet), but I've always felt pretty lucky in life, and whoever lost it was not, so I turned it into the cops. Turns out the wallet belonged to a gardener (with 5 kids) who just got paid. The police called two days later and asked if it was ok for the man to contact me, I said yes. He needed the money to pay the rent, groceries…you know, life's essentials. I wouldn't accept any reward money from him, but he did do some yard work for my parents - only way we could make him feel happy. I NEVER regretted my decision, and you shouldn't either. Nice to see there are people like you in the world!!

Canon EOS-60D

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

11/06/2005 06:09:33 PM · #16

That was a wonderful thing you did for that elderly gentleman. I know he will appreciate your kindness.

I never have found a large sum of money but I remember as a little girl being in a grocery store with my mom doing the weekly shopping, and mother found a $100 bill on the floor in the middle of one of the aisles. Now back then, $100 was a huge sum of cash (and to me it still is) and I know we probably could have used it for something, but instead, she headed toward the cashier's stand with it. As we rounded the corner to the next aisle, a woman about the same age was frantically searching through her purse and crying. She had about 6 kids hanging all over the full shopping cart and the oldest ones were helping her search and were crying as well. Mother walked up to her and asked her if she had lost something and she said "Yes, my grocery money...I had a $100 bill and now it's gone." Mother handed her the money and told her where she found it. The woman was SOOOO relieved and she hugged my mom, and both of them started crying... and to this day on the rare occasion when I find money I try to return it because witnessing that event really made an impact on me.

Pedro

Nikon D200

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED

11/06/2005 06:11:43 PM · #17

Originally posted by deapee:

Originally posted by Pedro:

Originally posted by deapee:
Man I would have kept the cash...Carrying 1000 in cash in your wallet, you better not lose it. I bet he'd have been happy to get his license and credit cards back. Truthfully, I am being honest...so don't ever lose your wallet around me. :-D

Pathetic.

whatever...I was honest...if you don't agree, there are other ways to express that rather than calling me names. But I am great at that too if you want to go that route...just let me know.

I didn't call you names. I expressed my opinion that your behavior (or suggested behavior) was pathetic. I have a 5 year old son...I'd be embarassed to tell him I took $1000 from a 74 year old man. Would you steal it from him when he wasn't looking? As soon as you know whose money it is, it's no differrent in my opinion.

rox_rox

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

11/06/2005 06:17:36 PM · #18

When I was a kid, we were very poor. I was sort of the gangleader for my little brothers. One day we were walking and noticed an old lady shuffling around on the street trying to pick up something she had dropped. I signaled my brothers to wait until she was finished. It was obvious that she had dropped some change and was unable to retrieve it all.

After she was gone, we proceeded to pick up about $5.00 worth of quarters (which was a fortune to all of us). Looking back, I'll never forgive myself for my greed and opportunity I missed to help an elder.

My actions were "pathetic" and I regret them to this day.

Beach_mel

Nikon D70s

Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

11/06/2005 06:34:41 PM · #19

Excellent! The cosmos will reward you, I fully believe in Karma... and shes a bitch if you piss her off.

11/06/2005 07:08:36 PM · #20

Too many posts to quote all the specific response...

1. I signed a receipt at the Police Station w that detailed everyting in the wallet - including the cash - so I doubt the cops took it.

2. It was definitely lost/dropped. Since I cleaned up that stretch of road, the state has repaved it, put up fences to stop the mass dumping, and there are at least three hiking trails that have been reopened since they start at or near one of the pull offs.

3. Roxanne - never feel guilty - remember the circumstances. Perhaps it could have been done differnetly, but hindsight is always better.

4. I don't, in any way, condemn deapee for his contribution to this thread. He was being honest and that is an admirable trait. Just think, if he was any other way he would be picking your pocket instead of claiming his through the 'finders keepers' rule.

5. Thanks to all for support of my decision. I don't think I would be enjoying my dinner tonight as am if I pocketed the money.

6. I didn't get a reward, but I did get a phone call about a half hour ago from the owner expressing his thanks. He and his wife invited me to dinner which I politely refuesed. His peace of mind was all the payment I needed.

Did I cover everything or did I miss something?

Message edited by author 2005-11-06 20:21:34.

11/06/2005 07:12:03 PM · #21

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

Originally posted by Alienyst:
I hope I passed.

That's an 'A'. To get an 'A+" you'd have to put more money into the wallet before turning it in. ;-)

Damn..even though I had my junk work pants on, I had a dollar in my pocket. I missed my golden opportunity.

Message edited by author 2005-11-06 20:20:52.

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

11/06/2005 07:18:31 PM · #22

Originally posted by kpriest:

You're still broke...

...but Karma is pleased. :)

Well done, grasshopper.

I am glad Karma is pleased...My only fear (and this stems from the 165 stitches I received as a result of a dog bite when I was a kid, is dogs, despite the fact I have a few) is that karma would bite my ass instead of my foot. I imagine that would be a bit more than 165 and I would not be able to sit to boot! Worse than a wallet...

Message edited by author 2005-11-06 19:40:41.

Joey Lawrence

PhaseOne P45

11/06/2005 07:20:03 PM · #23

I found a wallet in the summer with 200 bucks in it with a dozen credit cards and things. I phoned the guy because his number was in the wallet and he was so thankful when I gave it to him. He gave me 20$ for returning it and now I see that old guy almost every friday when I videotape games for our town's hockey team, he always waves frantically and smiles, proudly telling the people next to him the story.
:-D

deapee

Kodak V803