To the Readers' Forum:
Scenario: Day before Thanksgiving
My husband got home from the Falconer Post Office and realized his wallet was gone. He went back to the Post Office, CVS, and called the Town of Ellicott police to report the missing wallet. He looked everywhere! Even Police Officer Jim J. went to CVS and looked in the trash cans for it.( Yes, he did!)
We canceled credit cards within the next hour, trying to remember what was in the wallet. (How handy the internet is to find "800" numbers). Everyone he talked with on the phone seemed reassuring and helpful.
Doug got a temporary driver's license quite easily with a friendly/helpful DMV worker within 15 minutes. Amazing, how smoothly that went! But Doug fretted over his insurance cards, SS card(of mine!) ,wondering what to do next.
It was a quiet dinner hour, as we kept looking in the house in case the wallet had been misplaced at home. We hear of identity theft and credit card fraud all the time !
That night, the porch light was flickering, and I went outside to replace the light bulb and noticed the mailbox top was up.
Inside was Doug's wallet ... no note, just the wallet returned from someone.
Nothing taken, just returned.
Somewhere, a kind soul returned this to Doug and left a rather wonderful feeling with this gesture. Almost spiritual. Someone actually saw the address and dropped it buy. Picked it up and returned it. No money gone, no credit cards gone.
Sheesh People really do these things.
This is how we were taught by our parents, Doug and myself. "The right thing is not always the easy thing," my father would tell me. "Do unto others as you would want them to do to you" - another of His reminders to us as kids at the Stearns household. Follow the Golden Rule.
We do not use our mailbox as we get the mail at the Post Office, where Doug had actually "lost" the wallet that morning. Interesting that the light was flickering for me to notice, or that "lost" wallet could have been there quite awhile.
Hmmm ... makes you think, doesn't it?
"Thank you" to the person who did return this wallet. You have touched our hearts.
Thank you for one of our best Thanksgiving Day stories ever.
Sue and Doug Seamans
Falconer