My daughter (who is 12) escorted my niece (who is 1) to the Pittsburgh Children's Museum. She has a small designer purse that she keeps her smartphone and iPod in. (all gifts, I'm not rich). She left it laying on a table where they were crafting, and absent-mindedly walked away. Her fault entirely, she acknowledges that, had she not it would not have been an issue. BUT.
The people working there saw it, but ignored it and let it get picked up by the next people who walked in. Grrrrr. Some scumbag decided to steal it, and walked off with it. Grrrr. When it wasn't turned in to lost and found, my faith in the kindness of strangers was shaken a bit. Grrrrr.
Last night, we got a call from a woman who found the purse in her bushes, with everything in it! Yeah! She dried everything out and found the ICE contact and called us. Yeah! She lived very far away from the museum and wanted nothing in return...so faith in humanity is restored.
Why someone stole it and then threw it in some bushes along the sidewalk on the other side of town is beyond me.
This reminds me of two things:
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We had a recent shaken-faith-in-humanity go-round when on the way to a cyclocross race my girlfriend dropped her wallet getting into the car in the coffee shop parking lot and it walked off. We checked with the employees and scoured the lot... BUT three days later one of the baristas knocked on the door with her wallet, everything still in it. It turned out the guy who picked it up had had bad go-rounds with handing things in to lost and founds and so had tried to drop it off while we were at the races. A bit odd he didn't drop it in the mail slot and took a couple of days to give up and take it back to the coffee shop who in turn returned it, but still. He actually dropped by to make sure we'd gotten it, which although it struck me as odd at first really seemed to just be genuine concern.
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Item two: Not faith-in-humanity, just finding weird stuff: When we started tearing down the ceiling of the carport to begin enclosing it, a TON of crap fell out. Including a purse which, as near as we can tell, must have been stolen in 1957. It still had all kinds of stuff in it, and my girlfriend was able to track down the owner's grandson and return it (the purse's owner had actually passed on, IIRC, in 1961). We got to hear some stories and he brought pictures of the owner. Bummer about that stolen purse 54 years ago, but it was neat to see the connection and hear about the memories.
As a crime of opportunity, they probably ditched it when there wasn't any cash. some kid that picks up a forgotten purse might know enough to sanitize a stolen phone, but knows enough to ditch it. glad things worked out.
ransom - you race cyclocross? crazy bastard.........
Wait, a two year old has a smartphone and an ipod?
Ummmmm.... nevermind.
my 8yo wrote a letter to Grandma and Grandpa a few weeks ago. addressed it, but no stamp yet. It fell out of the van at a gas station. Someone saw it, stamped, wrote a little note on the outside of the envelope saying where she had found it and mailed it.
A very nice little 44cent gesture
With all the lowlifes around I been waitin' for a movie like 'Escape From Da 'Burgh' for decades... but then a story like this comes along and restores my faith in people.
However... there is little progress in the recovery of that $200K that was dropped out of the back of the armored car in Upper Saint Clair this week... 
Grtechguy wrote:
my 8yo wrote a letter to Grandma and Grandpa a few weeks ago. addressed it, but no stamp yet. It fell out of the van at a gas station. Someone saw it, stamped, wrote a little note on the outside of the envelope saying where she had found it and mailed it.
A very nice little 44cent gesture
That's a small gesture that brings big faith. Nice story
Duke
SuperDork
12/2/11 7:37 p.m.
My mother left her purse on top of her car, with something like $2000 cash in it (receipts from the car wash business, heh). She was sweating bullets until a guy called her that evening having picked it all up safe and sound. He didn't even want anything as a reward but she made him take 10%.
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:
914Driver wrote:
Wait, a two year old has a smartphone and an ipod?
Ummmmm.... nevermind.
12 year old. 
Wait, a twelve-year old has a smartphone and an ipod?
JamesMcD wrote:
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:
914Driver wrote:
Wait, a two year old has a smartphone and an ipod?
Ummmmm.... nevermind.
12 year old.
Wait, a twelve-year old has a smartphone and an ipod?
E36 M3, i don't even have a smartphone OR an ipod.
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:
JamesMcD wrote:
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:
914Driver wrote:
Wait, a two year old has a smartphone and an ipod?
Ummmmm.... nevermind.
12 year old.
Wait, a twelve-year old has a smartphone and an ipod?
E36 M3, i don't even have a smartphone OR an ipod.
Do you have a 12 year old?
ultraclyde wrote:
ransom - you race cyclocross? crazy bastard.........
It's fun! Kinda. Or at least fun to have done. Okay, when I get a beer with lunch afterward I don't feel guilty 
Appleseed wrote:
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:
JamesMcD wrote:
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:
914Driver wrote:
Wait, a two year old has a smartphone and an ipod?
Ummmmm.... nevermind.
12 year old.
Wait, a twelve-year old has a smartphone and an ipod?
E36 M3, i don't even have a smartphone OR an ipod.
Do you have a 12 year old?
Nope, and never will.
Unless it's a cat or a car.
I had someone go the extra mile to return a wallet to one of my employees.
I work for a ski resort in vermont....and as a perk, the employees get a season pass. A recently hired employee, went to visit his girlfriend in MA. Apparently he left his wallet on the counter at a pizza place. Somebody snagged, took the cash and ditched it in the parking lot. Someone else found it, and after dead ends with the address on his driver's license, tracked him down via the season pass.
I actually think the pendulum is swinging the correct way with people today. I actually credit the financial collapse for making people think about where they fit into the grand scheme of things. The problem is that the people that are doing BAD things are doing them in a more heinous fashion and with todays instant access technology we see that news report immediately.
Points in kind:
My neighbor is a retiree whose wifes legs just stopped working one day. He spends a lot of time caring for her on a daily basis. It snowed this week, and I shoveled his drive and walk for him. Really it was no big deal, I shoveled a little but mostly ran the snow blower... took 5 minutes.
After I went into work I found that every one of our NAV equipped Escalades and Tahoes had the windows smashed out to steal the NAV units... all of which were in the parts department because we have already learned that lesson. The issue is that they destroyed the glass just to do it after finding the first one already removed...
Appleseed wrote:
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:
JamesMcD wrote:
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:
914Driver wrote:
Wait, a two year old has a smartphone and an ipod?
Ummmmm.... nevermind.
12 year old.
Wait, a twelve-year old has a smartphone and an ipod?
E36 M3, i don't even have a smartphone OR an ipod.
Do you have a 12 year old?
... funny the wife and I where talking about the "excess" of kids with an Ipod (used as a generic term for mp3 player)... then I thought a little more and came to the realization that it's no different then the walkman I had as a kid... or the transistor radio my dad has as a kid...
I'm more concerned that your child doesn't realize the smartphone can be used as a mp3 player yet. Poor kid has to lug around two devices, when she only needs to have one.
