How to find, and lose, $200.
Last night me, my wife, and kids went to Target to get a couple of 99¢ pumpkin shaped candy buckets and a witch hat. As we're pushing our cart down one of the unpopulated Halloween isles, passing girls costumes that look too racy for an 18 year old even though they are meant for a 5 year old, I step on something sticky. I look to the floor to see what I stepped in, but my attention is immediately diverted. Two crisp $100 dollar bills folded neatly in half are right next to my foot.
Last night me, my wife, and kids went to Target to get a couple of 99¢ pumpkin shaped candy buckets and a witch hat. As we're pushing our cart down one of the unpopulated Halloween isles, passing girls costumes that look too racy for an 18 year old even though they are meant for a 5 year old, I step on something sticky. I look to the floor to see what I stepped in, but my attention is immediately diverted. Two crisp $100 dollar bills folded neatly in half are right next to my foot.I pick them up as fast as I can and show my wife.
"Check it out, we just won $200 for shopping at Target!".
My wife smiles from ear to ear (which if you knew her, is something quite rare).
But then our happiness quickly turns to dread.
My wife and I, almost in unison, ask each other, "What should we do?".
We ask each other this, but we both know what we will do.
We will turn it in.
We continue shopping. I'm dreading the moment when we go to the customer service counter and relinquish our new found fortune. I secretly hope that by the time we finish shopping we will have forgotten about the money burning an imprint in my wife's purse. If we forget, then we'll probably keep it, right? I mean, taking it back to the store would be a hassle, and things are very tight for us, and we could really use the money, and...
Of course neither of us forget. When we head over to customer service we're both hoping to see some archetype of integrity manning the counter. But no, a girl about 19 is standing there ready to help. She doesn't look shifty or anything like that, but I remember how I was at 19 and... C'mon, I was 19! My wife asks a few questions about how their lost-and-found works. Maybe she'll tell us they don't have a lost-and-found and there is no protocol at Target for reuniting people with lost items (a moral loop hole?). No, they have a great big book with names, dates and what was lost and/or found. The book appears very official. My wife asks about lost cash. The girl glances around uncomfortably. Maybe this is it! The loop hole! We can't turn it in! Then another girl (she must have been the supervisor because she looks 19 and a half) from 20 feet away says, "Just have her fill out the form and put the cash in the drawer". Awesome. I can already picture 'supervisor girl' taking the money and getting her older brother to buy a couple of kegs for the big Halloween party next week.
So as we're leaving the store I'm bummed. I didn't even get that, 'I did the right thing' good feeling. I just feel like a chump. But at least I have that gum on my shoe to remind me what a good person I am. Sweet.
In truth, even if there were no lost-and-found at Target we probably would have gone to the police station so they could have looked at us like we're idiots when we turned in the money. Why you ask? Why not keep it? Even though I know that most likely someone at the store will pilfer the cash?
This is how my brain works;
$200 dollars is a lot of money to me, and I imagine it was a lot of money to the person who lost it too. If there is ANY chance of the rightful owner retrieving THEIR money, money that THEY earned, or was given to THEM as a gift, I should try to give them that chance of getting it back.
If I don't care, why should I expect anyone else to care either?
-Mr. DNA (blames his parents)
5 comments:
I'm pretty sure there's a 50% fee for lost money of that amount. Fifty percent finders fee for you and a 50% dumbass tax for the retard that dropped $200 cash and didn't notice.
Besides if you have $200 cash you should be getting a better Halloween costume than the ones they sell at Target.
chump
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naw, you did the right thing, just make sure you document all facts,dates and anything that will back you up (get a deposition from your better half if necessary) you will need all of this when you tell this story to your own teenage children, in hopes it will help make them honest & ethical like you. Cuz, frankly I would need proof if I heard this at 19.
I kind of agree with Jerry. What you did has more than $200 worth of valuable lessons for your kids.
But I do find it quite the puzzler, I assume that Target does have some kind of mechanism to reward you should the mone go unclaimed. However the fact that you did this without expecting a reward just tells me that you're quality people.
thePrisoner (probably would've pocketed the cash, but I don't have kids so it's totally different)
Boo, I agree too.
Damn morals.
Not me, would've taken it and ran. (Not literally, but ya know what I mean)
If you have any belief in karma, its gotta pay off sometimes. Maybe that was a payoff for something good you did earlier and something horrible the person that lost it did.
If you don't cash in on the karma, its no good doing good deeds.
Sometimes life gives you a gift. In this case it was 200 bones and you should have taken it in my opinion). If you feel terribly guilty about it, buy something for your kids and wife with it and at least know it didn't go to your profit. I don't know, maybe that would've helped in some way - maybe not.
Again, if it was me, I say sweet we're finally getting paid back for being too damn nice my whole life.
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