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I am a retired English teacher and department head, the mother of three grand mother of four, and have been married to the same man for 52 years. I subscribe to Dr. PM Forni's concept of Civility. I was born in South Philadelphia and grew up in the 'burbs. I love soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, the Phillies, the Eagles, and San Diego. I love being Mom, Aunt Kathy, Nona Kathy, and Teacher. I spend a lot of time in my gardens in the spring and summer, and in the winter I plan what I'm going to plant. I also am an avid reader and photographer.

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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be, what is once well done is done forever. (Thoreau)

I believe that everything we do has consequences. We are not always cognizant of the effects of our positive actions, but they happen like a rippling in the water and something as minuscule as a smile can set off a wonderful chain of events.
On Thanksgiving, because my husband was ill, we had to call the children and our guests to let them know they needed to search elsewhere for turkey. All did with no problem except for our youngest daughter who lives outside of DC in a very urban, congested, and busy area. She had gone shopping for their dinner and when she got home realized her wallet with credit cards, license, and thirty dollars in it was gone. The last time she remembers seeing it was at the cashier. She returned to the store to ask if anyone had turned in a wallet, re-traced her steps in the parking lot, and then called her sick dad who from his bed called and canceled all of the credit cards. He comforted her, telling her it was only a wallet, and told her she needed to get a new license. (She was willing to have done the calling herself, but my husband is a hands-on kind of dad. I have a strong sense he'll be doing this kind of thing from the beyond as old habits die hard). She accepted her loss well and said she needed to be more careful.
And that, we thought, was that. On Saturday, however, she got a letter from the police telling her that someone (the police did not have a name) had turned in the wallet. It included an inventory; everything, including the cash, was still there. So to the kind and honest soul who turned in the wallet, I say 'thank you.' Not just for returning the wallet, but for creating this incidence of goodness. Let the rippling begin.

7 comments:

thailandchani said...

I honestly believe that sort of thing happens more often than not. Most people are good.. and will turn in a wallet or help someone with a flat tire. It's just that we hear more about the other ones. :)



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happyone said...

It is always good to hear stories like this. It makes you realize just how honest most people are.

Jay said...

I also believe that this kind of thing actually happens more often than people think. We're just so jaded and cynical that we assume the worst in everybody.

Glad she got her wallet back though! Maybe someday she'll get the chance to return the favor by doing something nice like that for someone else.

Gin said...

How nice!!! That restores one's outlook a bit, doesn't it?

Andy lost his wallet a couple years ago. The kind soul who found it mailed it back to him with everything in it except the $140!

At least he got all his credit cards, military ID and driver's license back. Of course, in the meantime he had replaced them all. I told him I hoped that whomever found his wallet really really really needed the money. You know, a single mom at the end of her rope, or an elderly person who was down and out of luck or something. I tend to romanticize things a bit...LOL. The place he lost it, it was probably more likely a drug addict or drunk!!

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

I'm so glad to read such a positive story. Thanks for posting it. And I'm really glad you're daughter didn't suffer a permanent loss.

Cheryl said...

I love hearing stories of honesty and goodness. Check my blog for what happened to me today.

Deblynne said...

How nice. It reminds me of something that happened to me earlier this year. I was running late and looking for a parking place near the Tomato Palace. I stopped near someone who I thought was pulling out. He told me that he was just getting there and suggested another lot, so I started to leave. That's when he told me that he would give me his place because he would be there all day and could park in the other lot. He proceeded to repack his truck with a stack of big heavy toolboxes and then gave me his parking place.

The thing that impressed me most was that he was so gracious about it. He just gave me his space in such a polite way, as if this was the most natural thing to do. I appreciated his kindness even more than the parking space. Thanks for reminding me of this.