I left my wallet in the local bodega on Monday.
Didn't realize until Tuesday. Promptly retraced my steps, asked the cashier, searched my apartment just in case (I'm serious, I looked under the couch cushions, and under the ironing board cover**)
Zilch, zip, nada.
I notified the bank that my cards were gone. That instantly locks the account which is great until the auto-payments get declined, and you realize you can't get any replacement cash. (I recently saw a thread on Twitter about how people didn't use cash anymore. Man oh man, that is so Not Me!)
I had resigned myself to a week of feeling sorry for myself when today, lo and behold, Wallet came home!
No note or anything.
And of course the $96 I had just gotten from the ATM was gone gone gone.
But I now do NOT have to stand in line at the DMV.
I have my ID back, so I can go to the bank and cash a check for funds.
My vaxx card.
My voter registration card.
My Met membership card!
And not least, my reminder to look for ways to do good in the world.
**the reason I looked under the ironing board cover is because I iron my currency.
Whoever got that $96, I hope they noticed those bills had no dog eared corners or wrinkles. (Yes I am a loon, it's a well-known fact.)
Are you a loon about something like this?
19 comments:
Sometimes in NYC and the surrounding area, the universe is still kind. I'm glad you got your wallet back. The money is a small price to pay. ;)
Yikes! Losing my wallet is one of my worst nightmares. I'm glad yours found its way home.
As for being a loon about certain things, I keep the bills in my wallet all facing front and right side up, and in order - ones at the front, then fives, tens, twenties
I am a loon when it comes to wallet/phone (they are attached) and my keys. I fear be locked out of my abode by a lot. And my whole life is in my wallet (ID and the like), and my phone is too much of a wallet really. I do not use cash anymore which is probably not the best idea. Although, I worry cash may becoming obsolete and will not be accepted much longer. Which is a whole other degree of scary to me. If the internet and technology should fail....did we learn nothing from the Titanic? No such thing as an unsinkable ship whatever technological form that ship takes.
Anyhow, I am so pleased your wallet was returned to you. That is a good thing even if it was bereft of your cash.
So glad you got your wallet back, Janet. I love that verse from Isaiah -- now I'm inspired to keep a copy with me, too.
Glad you don't need to replace all of the ID cards. Credit cards are another matter. I do a poor job of keeping track of the ones in my wallet.
As for "a loon about something": Yes, cats. We've adopted two feral cats this spring. They hide when the weather is bad and won't get close to a door when it is opened. Camping 24/365 sucks.
By the way, how do I change my Blog ID from Unknown to my usual Reid id?
My Grandmother Burgess, who was not poor by any means, ironed Christmas paper and ribbons. She was widowed during The Depression with 3 children: two in college -- RPI and Wellesley -- and one still in elementary school. So even something as frivolous as wrapping paper was not to be wasted. She told everyone to carefully unwrap their presents while preserving the paper and ribbons. Later she ironed them and stored them away in a dress box. My mother said it became a Christmas tradition to recall what paper and ribbons had wrapped what presents in past years. When she died at 98, we found the box of Christmas wrappings, some of which date back to the 1930s.
Grandmother also requested only NEW bills at the bank. She refused old, dirty money. She also wore kid leather gloves to read her newspapers. When changing the hem on a dress, she carefully removed the entire thread without breaking and/or cutting it. Then she used it to put in the new hem.
She wasted nothing. Her favorite present for her 90th birthday was a new garbage pail to replace the leaky one which she had had for 45 years. Her comment on the old one: "They don't make them like they used to."
Years ago, my elderly aunt was going on a cross country road trip to visit family - spread out all over the USofA. She stopped a gas station and used the payphone to let us know when she'd be arriving at our place. Yep. Before cell phones. She left her gigantic purse, practically a small suitcase, on the shelf of the phone booth. Literally every single thing she'd need to continue her trip or even get back home was gone. Including about $1000 in cash. Lord have mercy. What a bunch of stress that was - she cried for days.
It's pretty remarkable that the person who found your wallet bothered to return it. Nice.
I'm a loon about much. Too much to go into here. But, in my defense when someone looks at me like I am indeed a loon, I often say, "Hey, we all have our things that make us weird."
Not a loon, at least not officially. And sorry about your lost cash. But the serendipity of this blog amazes me. Only last night I was talking with some writer friends about good deeds, and one of them mentioned that they saw someone drop a wallet in a public place and ran up to them and let them know. Good deeds, indeed, are everywhere.
Like most writers, my mind drifts when I'm out and about. So, I lose my wallet often, and just as often get reminded how much kindness is in the world.
Most recent time was when I left my wallet on the bumper of my car (Next to my phone, of course) and drove about ten miles. Because I don't pay attention too well when I'm driving (drifting mind again), I'll hit a pothole or six. The wallet and phone didn't survive the trip. Before I even knew they were gone, my wife got a phone call that they were found.
I wasn't there when she answered the call, but I imagine her saying "I've been expecting this call, just didn't know who it was coming from."
Here's a crazy one: Couple weeks back I dropped $60 on the floor at 7-Eleven. Went back 90 minutes later, it was still there. The cashier (my new buddy, Usman, who laughs at me the moment I walk in now) was amazed.
You should follow me around, it's a prosperous hobby.
Glad you got your wallet back, $96 is a small price to pay.
I am becoming a loon about my writing, so many unspoken things to proper place and remove, blood sweating stuff.
I had been a loon about my cooking for quite a while, but i guess that makes me a fruitcake.
What a relief to get your wallet back, Janet, even if you're all the poorer for it. I wonder if it was the same person who found your wallet as the one who returned it? (I can imagine the sort of person who'd take the cash to be one who'd then toss the wallet, another more kind-hearted person finding and returning). I only hope whoever took the money had great need of it (for good).
When I was a teen we (family) were travelling from our home town to the state capital (about a 3.5 hour drive). We stopped for petrol and Mum left her purse on top of the car when we drove off. We didn't know until we got to Brisbane and had to pay for parking - no purse.
Turns out it was found (empty of cash and cards) a short distance from the petrol station on the bank of a creek. It was handed to police who were concerned about foul play. All that was left was a piece of paper with my Uncle's phone number on it. They rang him, worked out who owned the purse and unbeknownst to us, had a manic search going on trying to locate us. Meanwhile, we were carrying on with our day (before mobile phones). Bit of a shock for us when they finally tracked us down.
As for loony behaviour, it's all a matter of perspective, right? I cannot read a book series out of order, have to start with #1. When I peg the clothes on the clothesline, no matter how much I have to fish through the clothes basket, I always peg large items first and finish with undies and socks (for which my grandmother will be rolling in her grave - undergarments should be hung on the inside lines of a hills hoist so your neighbours can't see your delicates!). I could go on, lol.
In Australia you can only get cash from ATM's in denominations of $50 and $20. (and our smallest note is a $5).
Ditto Leslie on how I keep my bills.
Love the comment about Kitty's grandmother.
I'm glad you got your wallet back, Janet.
I left my wallet in the grocery basket once and immediately realized I had left it there. Went back to get it and the old man from the store was taking baskets in. I asked him if he'd found a billfold in there. He had. All the money was gone, of course. All four hundred dollars I had gotten from the bank to go pay bills. I knew he had taken the money. I broke down and started crying I mean blubbering crying because I knew we were going to have to pawn stuff to pay bills and Don was going to be furious.
The old man just looked at me and said, "You ought to be damned thankful they didn't take your driver's license too."
I just looked at him like he'd lost his mind. What the heck would someone want with my driver's license?
Another time, I left something in Albertson's. One of the boys left something an I went back to get it. Thanked the manager profusely. A customer had turned it in. He said, "You know, people are usually pretty good. We've got one family who comes in. They always walk. Her and the four little ones. Kids are always well-behaved, but they're pretty worn. She watches what they buy like a hawk down to the last penny. One day one of the kids found an envelope with a lot of money and she turned around and they brought it back."
I told him that was pretty remarkable. It was probably more money than they'd ever seen. He bought them some kind of dinner from the deli out of his own pocket if I remember correctly.
Whenever I lose something, I stand on Luke 8:17
For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.
I'm glad you got your wallet back, but I'm sad they had to take the money.
As for me being a loon? Yes, about many things. Too many to mention here. I just give the quirks to my characters and readers think it's charming.
I may draw faces on my son's eggs tomorrow and put google eyes on everything in their refrigerator. It's been a while since I glammed up their fridge. And they still trust me with their kids and eggs.
Hi Janet,
Your correct about still cancelling credit cards, as people will frequently take the cash, copy the IDs and cards, and give them back or put them somewhere where they'll get back to the person. When that happens, lots of people are like, "Oh, good, I don't have to cancel anything." Then about 3m later, their life takes a trip in a handbasket with tons of things showing up on your credit cards. The CC companies will ALWAYS cancel cards if they have been out of your possession.
But often DMV, other IDs will also recommend cancelling and getting new ones, exact same reason. People could have copied your IDs, made copies, repurposed them, you get them back, you feel it's "all good", and then find out someone stole your identity out in Utah.
You should check for any of your ID providers what they recommend...some may follow the CC advice and just replace them.
As an aside, you may also not have "left" it anywhere, someone could easily have pickpocketed you. A frequent trick is they work to get it back to you, take something valuable out, but hope you don't notice and therefore won't cancel everything. I went to Paris a long time ago for work, was using AmEx traveller's cheques, went to McDonald's, got pickpocketed, and someone found my wallet and called the Embassy. Money was gone but all my TCs were still there -- almost. I had cancelled the TCs, went to AmEx to pick up replacements, and said, "Well, this is weird, I got them back but there are two missing...Isn't that weird?". Nope, apparently quite common. They hope if you get them back, you won't cancel them, you'll just assume you spent them. Except it was my first night there, I cashed one before leaving Canada so I had some cash on the ground, but I hadn't cashed any others. I knew what was missing and what wasn't. Worst part? I gave a reward to the person who returned my wallet, who was probably in on the scam.
I had to cancel mostly everything, but given the era, they didn't suggest replacing the ID. Now, their advice domestically in Canada is absolutely to replace drivers' licenses, everything. Even library cards.
Just a thought...sorry you had to go through this (and still might have some problems coming!). I don't want to be paranoid, but there are still risks... :(
Paul
Yes, I'm a loon, although perhaps in the opposite direction. When my son was young, he came across a toy iron and thought it was a boat, because he'd never seen an iron.
So glad you got your wallet back, even if it was lighter. There are lots of good people out there. I hope one of them was the one to mail your things back, and it wasn't the scam PolyWog mentioned.
You are lucky to have gotten the wallet back, in ways you may never know.
My husband’s wallet? Lost! We searched places that had not seen the light of day for years. Got a new wallet, everything replaced, reissued, yadda, yadda, yadda, it was a nightmare. Three weeks later I climbed up into his work-truck, usually couldn’t find room for a passenger because of tools, but he had cleaned it out during the great search. There - on the dash board - in front of the driver - his old wallet - everything intact. He said he didn’t see it because the color of the wallet and dashboard were the same. The dash gray, the wallet brown. Jeez..em..crow!
If I lost my wallet, the first thing I would replace, my favorite Confucius Quote.
“We have two lives, and the second one begins when we realize we only have one.”
I can imagine the panic that sets in when you lose your wallet, it's horrendous!
I lived in Chicago fo a year. In my first disorienting cab ride, I left my wallet in the backseat. Chicagio has many taxicabs. I called the taxi cab compnay . Later that day someone from the cab company brought my wallet back t me. everything still there.
P.S. I still had my Texas drivers license in it and no Illinois ID.
P. P.S. I have a wondeful guardian angel.
Brazilan judges studied at my school each June. They loved outlet malls. One of them left her purse at an outlet store.
Someone from the outlet store called about retuirning the purse to the judge. The judges were amazed. That would never happen in Brazil, they said.
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