In recent years, I have had two experiences with finding items that belong to someone else on the street, and I did what I could to get the items back to their rightful owner. I knew getting the items back to the owner was the right thing to do, and didn't think twice about putting some effort into finding the owner.
The first item I found was a set of keys on a train in Boston. There were about 20 keys on the ring, and several store cards. I knew I could turn them in at the ticket booth at the station when I got off the train, but I was afraid that the keys would just go forgotten in a lost in found bin somewhere. Who knew if the owner even realized that she had lost the keys on the train? I had about 20 minutes left until I reached my stop, so I decided to see if I could figure out a way to contact the owner.
So, I began to look for clues. I looked at all of the cards on the ring, and came across a card for a gym membership. There was a phone number on the card, so I pulled out my cell phone, and dialed the number. I explained to the receptionist that I had found the member's keys on the train, and I asked if he could call the member and give her my cell phone number so I could try to get the keys back to her. The receptionist agreed to pass along a message to the member.
Before I even got off the train, the woman called me, extremely grateful that I made the effort to locate her, as she didn't know she had lost her keys. We arranged to meet later so I could get the keys back to her. When I handed her the keys, she told me that she was shocked that I went through the effort I went through to get the keys to her, and she told me that it was good to know that there were still nice and honest people in the world.
I didn't think much of her comments until a few years later when I found a wallet on the ground one morning on the way to work. Once again, I wanted to make sure that I got it back to its rightful owner, so I looked through the wallet for clues. There was a driver's license, a few dollars in cash, a couple of credit cards, and a couple of checks. I tried to find a phone number online for the woman, but came up empty. There were two different addresses on items in the wallet, so I didn't even know where to try to mail the wallet.
I really wanted to get the wallet back to her before she started going through the hassle of cancelling credit cards, and trying to get those checks reissued. I took a second look through the wallet, and took a closer look at the checks. One of them looked like a reimbursement check from her employer, so I thought that would be my best option to contact her.
I found the company's phone number online, and gave them a call. I asked to be connected with someone in human resources and left a voicemail explaining that I found one of their employees wallets, and I was hoping to get that wallet back to the person.
A short time later, the woman called me up, and said she hadn't even realized that she dropped her wallet. She was extremely grateful that I found a way to contact her to get the wallet back to her.
She came to my office later that morning to pick up the wallet. She told me that I was one of the last honest people on earth. I was surprised to hear her say that, and I remembered that I had heard something similar from the woman whose keys I found a few years earlier.
When I think back on these events, I have to wonder if I really am one of the last honest. I know I put some effort in it, but I would like to believe that most people would make a reasonable effort to get a wallet or keys back to their rightful owner. I would hope that if someone found something of mine that he or she would try to get the item back to me.
So, what do you think? Am I one of the last honest people on earth? What would you do if you found a wallet or a set of keys somewhere? Would you pick them up and try to get them back to the owner? Would you just leave them where they were? Would you take the cash out of the wallet and throw it in the trash?
Maybe it's a bit naive, but I have to believe that we live in a world where most people would do the right thing and try to get the item back to its rightful owner. I hope that I am right. If I'm not right, I guess I'll just have to settle for being one of the last honest people on earth.
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