22 November 2017

A THANKSGIVING GIFT

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I experienced something nice.  The other day I wrote that my wallet was stolen in Times Square. I took the necessary precautionary steps, and resigned myself to its loss, as there is no point in agonizing over things you cannot change. But I just received a package containing my wallet, virtually intact, minus the credit cards, (which have all been canceled and replaced anyway), Even the cash was included. The very decent individual who sent it wrote that it was found on a street in Brooklyn. I am ever so thankful, not so much because the wallet was returned,  as because it is a pleasure to learn that there are still good people in this world.

Something similar happened to me some years ago, when leaving a Hawaiian resort. We left our things in what was supposed to be a secure storage room, while we went for a last swim. When I returned the wallet was missing, apparently lifted by an employee. When I got back home, I shortly thereafter received a phone call from someone staying in the same rooms at the resort, who said he found my wallet in the suite. Apparently the employee who had taken it got nervous after I complained and the heat was on, and made it reappear. He said he was sending it back to me, and refused any reimbursement, saying “I would hope that someone else would do the same for me.” Truer words were never spoken. 


For all the bad things we constantly hear about, we tend to forget that not everyone is a thief and  that they are greatly outnumbered by good people. This has restored my faith in others, in basic human decency, and I am indeed thankful for that. I am thankful for all the people who always rush to help others, be it an emergency or simply assisting strangers in the city. So this Thanksgiving I will be thinking about all the fine people that are still are around; people who will do the right thing even if no one is looking. It is something to ponder, always keep in mind, and  pass on to others. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

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