I remember in the U-District in Seattle, in the late 90’s I parked my car on a nice day I parked my car on the street with the window rolled down. The street had light foot traffic. I left my “free” black vinyl “computer bag” on the passenger side street with nothing in it. I came back and it was gone. Some neighborhoods are just higher risk than others.
I’ll give you a stupid on my part self induced risk Christmas story from Brentwood TN. A stupid forgetful thing I had not done since my last kids were in car seats and I left a deposit bag on the roof of my pickup
It was week before Christmas last month and I went to Fresh Market in Brentwood.... posh burb on Nashville proper southern border in Williamson county where I live more rural much further out.
I had just pulled cash from my cash business and had it in my cedarstone bank bag and when loading bags into my pickup I inadvertently left the bag in my grocery jitney
I had driven home 20 miles to my dirt drive and noticed where’s my bag
Damn...I rushed back to Fresh Market on Franklin road at top speed
No bag in jitney rack
So I went inside and the ginger girl who’d cashiered me was trembling so happy...
She shrieked thank God you came back
She went to the safe.....and pulled out my bag
Someone...either an employee or customer had found it and turned it in
Never found out they wouldn’t confirm it
The manger came over and I asked if I could reward at least Ginger and she said no please don’t it’s policy
I was extremely happy
Inside that bag was a little over 10,000...not a dollar lite
Not let me tell u do you think all environments would have been so honorable ...
Hell I’m not sure I woulda been the times in my life I’ve been broke
Anyhow ...it festered with me so a couple days later I went by the Starbucks on the same strip and bought a gift card for I think 400
Took it to manager and said y’all all use it up and thank u so much again
Epilogue
About three weeks later I go by to get their crab cakes on sale....two for six bucks at times....and I buy shrimp there and pâté for my rib
I’m standing in front of the dairy section looking for some fancy Bulgarian yogurt my sons like......and I hear faintly since I’m of poor hearing “sir thank u so much for the Starbucks “
I turned around and it’s basically the whole store out to thank me
There are happy stories out there and I sure lived one
There are still honest people in America
Losing ten K at Christmas would have been quite painful