Found money?

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J.Masc

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Hi,

Have you ever found money, a wallet, something valuable? If you have and would be willing to tell me a little bit about what you did--please contact me ASAP. This is for a magazine article I'm writing.

Thanks!

Janene
[email protected] or PM me.
 

Storyteller5

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Yes, I found $200 cash once on the floor of a store and didn't keep it. I'll share the details if that's what you are looking for. :)
 

MelodyO

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I saw a woman drop her wallet once on a downtown street. I picked it up and had to run after her about half a block, yelling and waving, until she noticed me and stopped. I never thought about stealing anything. What can I tell you - I'm Canadian. :tongue
 

Summonere

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Found a dollar bill outside a convenience store. Walked inside and spent it on a Powerball lottery ticket, all on a whim. Guess what? I won the lottery.

True story.

But here's the less interesting part: I only won four dollars of the several-million-dollar lottery. So, no, I didn't win the whole shebang.

Here's another story:

Found a five dollar bill on the floor next to one of those bargain book bins at Barnes and Noble. Looked around, said, "Hey, did someone lose this?" No one paid much attention, and there didn't seem to be anybody searching for their lost cash. I figured, what the heck, not my money, so I picked it up and set it in plain sight on top of a book on the edge of one of those bargain books (as you may recall, I had just won the lottery, so I didn't really need the money...). Then I noticed a woman across the store watching me -- sort of a I-noticed-her-outta-the-corner-of-my-eye thing, as opposed to a I'm-staring-at-you-directly kinda thing, which may explain what happened next. I walked away to browse some nearby books and surreptitiously watch the bill. No surprise, that woman who had observed me from afar came and snatched up the bill. Maybe it was hers.

Here's one more:

Stayed at a Florida motel years ago when I was kid traveling with my family. The day we were leaving, I found a roll of bills on the sidewalk in front of another room. Picked it up, unrolled it: four dollars. I knocked on the door in front of which I found the money. No one answered. I knocked again, louder, longer. No answer. I waited. Still no answer. I kept the money.

More recently, I found a penny in a parking lot yesterday. I kept it. (My lottery windfall having long since been spent...)
 

BarbJ

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Years ago, when I was young and much less cynical, I was a waitress. Two couples came in, minks in warm weather, the women moving their hands so their diamonds showed at all times, the men talking about their new cars and other toys - you know the stereotype; they lived it. As they were leaving through the front door, one of them dropped a $20 bill. I chased after them into the parking lot to return it. When I got back to their table, they had left a quarter tip for four dinners.

Guess that's why they had money to flaunt. Would I still return the $20? Yeah, but it would be for my benefit, not theirs. Cynicism comes with maturity, as does less sympathy for such obvious banality.

Not entirely true. As I write this - and it happened many years ago - I still feel some pity for such desperate people. Ah, well.
 

Evaine

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I once found £5, when £5 was a reasonable amount of spending money. I took it in to the local police station and basically forgot all about it (I'd been on my way to church when I found it).
On Hallowe'en evening, I was getting ready to go to a fancy dress party, dressed as Queen of the Spiders (basically a black body stocking and a cobwebby shawl), when a WPC knocked on the door. Nobody had claimed the money, and would I like to go round to the police station in the morning to claim it?
 

sharra

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Found about £200 sticking out of the ATM machine a couple of months ago. The woman who'd tried to draw was busy at the machine next door - the first one had taken so long she'd thought there was a problem.
I tapped her on the shoulder & pointed it out to you - and the two of us were treated to the sight of her money retreated majestically into the machine..
I could have taken it without her being any wiser, and yeah, I could do with the money. I couldn't sleep at night if I did, though.
 

JoNightshade

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Once when I was a kid I was in the lobby of the local movie theatre when I looked down and saw a ring. I picked it up and discovered it was a man's gold wedding band. I was so shocked that I took it over to the person behind the snack counter and gave it to them, saying "Here, I found this." Afterwards everyone told me I should have taken it to the police or something instead so I would get it back if nobody claimed it, but I don't regret giving it away. I don't care if it's claimed or not, I don't want somebody else's wedding ring.
 

johnnysannie

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A few years ago I was at the supermarket and when I stepped up to the little shelf at the register where you can put your billfold or write a check, there was a billfold there. I showed it to the clerk and she said something like, "Oh, that must be that last customer's." She wasn't very interested but I recalled an elderly lady checking out ahead of me so on the off chance she was still in the parking lot, I dashed out the door (leaving hubby with the kids in the cart) and caught up to an elderly lady just getting into her car.

I held out the billfold and asked if it was hers. Tears came into her eyes as she said that it was - she told me that she had just cashed her Social Security check and most of it was still inside. She thanked me and I went back to my family.

Never considered taking it - I didn't even open it to see what was inside. I was glad to catch the lady who left the billfold behind.
 

Sandi LeFaucheur

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I found a wallet in the road. Opened it to see who it belonged to; it was stuffed with $20 bills. It belonged to someone next-door-but-two, so I went to return it. Did they say thank you? No, just looked at me, took it, went inside. I know it was early on a Sunday morning and they were probably hung over (assuming that's why they dropped it in the road the night before), but a thank you wouldn't go amiss. Takes exactly half a second.
 

J.Masc

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Wow!!! You all are so sweet---thank you so much for taking the time to respond. These are all so helpful. This topic is just one section in a larger article I'm putting together. Below, is my official *request* . If you have any others--please send them along and thanks again for all your help, everyone.

For a national magazine, I'm on the hunt for various "what would YOU do?" stories Were you forced to make an instant decision? What did you do?

Could be any character-testing situation: finding something valuable (a wallet, money, jewelry) helping a stranger, risking your reputation or job, blowing the whistle on something you knew was wrong, coming to the aid of a someone in need, snagging a cheater---there's plenty of scenarios that might work for this. As long as it was one of those difficult, "what-would-you-do" situations.

So, I'd love to hear about any split-second decisions or dilemmas that really put your integrity, strength, beliefs, courage to the test. Or any time you stood on the fence--not sure which decision to make about a dilemma that many people can relate to.

Perhaps something that made you take a step back when it was all over and say--wow, did I really just do that? Or question your instant decision. Please send along a very brief description of what happened: contact Janene : [email protected]
 

Cat Scratch

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As an exceptionally broke college student, I saw a classmate drop a $20 bill as he walked away. I had an extreme moral dillema before chasing after him and returning it.

A couple of years ago I was waiting tables and a couple left two $20 and a $100 for a $52 tab, then got up to leave. It was clear they thought the $100 was another $20, so I chased them out the door to point out their mistake. They left a generous tip, but not as generous as the $100 would have been!

Same job, a man with a family left his wallet behind at the table, full of cash and credit cards. Again I chased him out of the restaurant and down the street to return it.

I always feel that what I lose in actual money I'll make up in karma.
 

Cat Scratch

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As for other "What would YOU do?" scenarios:

I was a very soft-spoken, non-confrontational person when I was younger. (I've since grown out of that in spades, but that's another matter.) When I was 19 I went down to the lake by myself on a particularly beautiful day. A few other young women were also laid out on blankets in bathing suits catching the last few summer rays. A while later, a very large intimidating-looking man came wandering through, checking out all the women. He passed by my dirty look and went and sat down right next to a sleeping woman who was probably no more than 17 or 18 years old. She woke up to find him leering over her, and she looked instantly terrified. Withoug a moment's hesitation I leapt from my blanket and hurried over, saying "Leave her alone!" He told me to mind my own business, but I just stood back, watching carefully with my arms crossed. I wanted to get a lifeguard, but didn't want to leave them alone together, so I just watched. Finally, he grew uncomfortable and left. The girl thanked me profusely.

It was completely out of character for me to do that, but instinct kicked in. I don't know what I would have done if it escalated--he outweighed me by at least 100 pounds, but I wanted him to know that he was being watched so he couldn't try anything. I'm glad I did it, and I've become a much more assertive person in general because of it.
 

Silver King

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...I never thought about stealing anything. What can I tell you - I'm Canadian. :tongue

That's my reasoning too. ;)
There is some truth to this, and since today is Be Nice to Canadians Day, I'll share one:

My wife and I could not afford to travel until we had been married for several years. We went to the Florida Keys on a belated honeymoon, and while in Islamorada, she left behind her waist bag (fanny pack) while in the restroom of a hotel next to the pool.

Almost as soon as she rejoined me, we realized the bag was missing, and we hurried back to the restroom. The bag was gone. It contained $2400.

That was all the money we had, and the sole credit card we used was in my wallet, which was also inside the bag.

To say we panicked would be a gross understatement. To make matters worse, we were not guests of the hotel but merely had stopped by to enjoy drinks and swim in the pool.

There was nothing to do except alert the front desk of our loss. The clerk asked if we could describe the bag. She then asked for an inventory of the contents. When we told her, she reached under the desk and gave us the bag. She explained a guest had turned it in.

Not a penny was missing. I asked the clerk if we could leave something for the guest. She refused the request, and was adamant the person did not want to be identified or rewarded. Even when I tried to pour on the charm, all I could get from her was, "Look, these people are from Toronto, you know? It's not a big deal for them."

But it was a big deal. In the end, I was not allowed to even send up a bottle of wine and flowers to their room. I did write a short note of appreciation, but I'm not sure if it was ever delivered.
 

Tsu Dho Nimh

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When I was in college, I found a frat pin lying on the floor of a classroom. I made them serenade my dorm to get it back.

My nephew (age 4 or so) slipped away from the table at a restaurant and came back with a LOT of money he "found on the empty tables" - tips and meal payments. ERK! We took it to the manager and apologized, and explained the concept of "tips" to the child.

My father was cleaning out a greeting card rack at his pharmacy and found a heavy jade and gold tie clasp in one of the slots. He took it to the local police, and he posted a notice in the store, but nobody claimed it - at least nobody who could describe it tried to claim it. It is now a ring, and it is mine.

*************
In Mexico I took a taxi to the airport, and my wallet fell out. It had a couple hundred dollars in US and Mexican bills (several thousand pesos). The driver triple parked and tracked me down, and then asked for 100 pesos to bribe the cop to not ticket his triple-parked taxi. That's all he would take - I tried to give him more.

The SAME driver had started the negotiations over the cost of a ride ot the airport at 5x the usual fare.

Apparently business is one thing, but lost and found is another.
 
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Feathers

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I found a ten dollar bill lying outside my church once. I guessed it belonged to someone inside, so I spent the next half hour running around going 'is this yours? did you drop this?'
I was really beginning to think i'd get to keep it--there was like 4 people left inside--when I happened to hear one of the sunday school teachers telling someone else she lost a ten dollar bill. Go figure. Turned out to be hers, of course.

Next week i found a twenty dollar bill, same church. Guess who I went to first? After that, I didn't find any more money at church.

I did find a 1 dollar bill at the beach, tho, in the surf. Didn't ask anyone about that because no one was around.
 

Maryn

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You're all so honest. I'd probably return found money, and in fact I have, but I always entertained thoughts of what I'd do with it before the Honest Maryn personality emerged.

However, any money that goes through my washer or dryer (this is at home, not a laundromat) is mine.

Maryn, who once found a five dollar bill in the dryer
 
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