I wanted to write this thank you diary on the day before Thanksgiving, because something that happened last week meant so much to me and I thought it might also be meaningful to others. It's so easy to get focused on all that's wrong in the world and all that's wrong with people and to simply expect people to behave badly. It's sad that it's surprising when they don't behave badly. When they, in fact, go out of their way to do the right thing. So, here's what happened:
Two weeks ago I went to Spain for a vacation. This was my third trip to Europe and the first time I didn't have complete panic attacks about the whole thing. I am not a super wealthy, frequent international traveler. You might say, these are my bucket list trips. I'm finally making just enough money to do it, and i'm afraid if I wait until I retire, I'll be too sick and broken and too poor to travel, so I'm doing them now. But it's a learning process, figuring out how to be an international traveler and, in this case, I was all thrown off, because three days earlier my car was broken into and my purse stolen from under the seat while I was at the gym. I had to rush new credit cards, find a new wallet etc. Maybe that's why I was more stupid than usual about how I managed my money. I really don't know. But I was - more stupid than usual, that is. I took out a large chunk of cash from my savings account with the idea that I was going to control my spending that way - just use that cash and no credit. Right. I asked about traveler's checks at my bank, but they advised against it and suggested changing the cash to Euros when I got there. But when I got there, I realized the easiest thing was to use my ATM card and get Euros. Now, a smart person would have taken all that american cash and stashed it somewhere like a hotel safe. But I carried it with me. Don't ask me why. Which is how I happened to have a god $600 in cash (between american dollars and euros) in my wallet when I dropped my wallet in a taxi after paying the fare. Yes, I know. So many things I should have done differently. Who even needed a wallet? Just use one of those little neck hanging travel things. Hey - lesson learned. I was devastated. I am not someone who can just lose $600. I was going to put that american money right back in my savings account. I had to borrow money for the rest of the trip. I got to see the inside of a police station. I learned the Spanish words for, "I lost my wallet," very very well. I knew, beyond a doubt, that somebody was having a spending spree. The English speaking police officer who took my statement stopped just short of laughing at me when I asked if they would call me if the wallet was found. I only hoped my money was paying for some kid's college class, or much needed medicine and not being smoked or shot up someone's arm.
Well. Here is the Thanksgiving part of this story. Last weekend, I received a message on my home answering machine from a woman in Illinois. She said she had been in Spain and had found my wallet in a taxi on Friday, a day after I had lost it. She had tried hard to find me. She had called the credit card companies, and the bank on my ATM card trying to reach me. She had searched for me on the Internet from my temporary license and found my home number. She had left a number on my answering machine with her hotel room from Spain, but unfortunately, I didn't get it until I got the second message - that she was back in Illinois and wanted to send my wallet back to me. She wouldn't even take cash out to pay for fed-exing it. Her husband overnighted it to me from his work so I would have it before I left to see my family for Thanksgiving. I can't even send them a thank you gift - i wanted to send edible fruit, or flowers, or something, but the return name and address is someone from her husband's work and his company address. I'm not even sue how to spell their last name I can send a card. And I can publicly thank them here, on Dailykos. I don't know these peoples' political orientation, or religion. But I do know something about their values. I know that they care about their fellow human beings - enough to know how I must have felt about losing my wallet. Enough to go to great lengths to track me down. I want to thank them, not only for returning my wallet, but for reminding me that there really are people out there who are just plain good and capable of empathy and who want to do the right thing, even when it might be easier not to. I hope my story brings a smile to your face too. Happy Thanksgiving.