The better side of humanity...

[Phoenix_one]

Has there been a moment in your life that you thought that all is lost and then suddenly all turns out for the better?

Let me tell you a story.....

I was deployed to Afghanistan, and because of the nature of my job I must remove my ring and watch (Casio G-Shock G-2300) . I thread the watch band through the ring and fasten the band. Put it in my pocket and forgot about it. During lunch somebody asks for the time, pull my watch, say the time and continue with the conversation.

Now, mind you we are on a dining facility that seats over 200 people, it's packed, at noon. People constantly arriving and leaving not to mention the service (locals and Third Country Nationals). We quickly finsh our food and leave. Back at workplace I realized I left my watch on the table with my wedding band on it.

I as soon as I could I went back (two hours later), I ask the person in charge if anybody reported a found watch. No luck. At this time I gave up all hope.

My next was my day off and could not return to that particular facilty. I felt so depressed, I did not even told my wife. On the third day, I returned and I happened to ask the person at entrance of the facility again if a watch was found, and before he responded the person behind me said "I believe I found your watch, I have it at the office, I was hoping the owner would show up ". My face lit up and I thank him many , many times. I could not believe it. My faith in humanity was restored.

Now, have you had a similar experience?

 

[Arrow]

Can't say that I have ,but yours is a great story.Glad you got that wedding ring back. You can get another watch, but you can't replace the ring you said your vows over.

 

[mretzloff]

Good story. Thank you for sharing.

There is nothing better than someone making your day like that. Hopefully that guy will receive the same kindness when he looses something.

 

[gaseousclay]

my story isn't as good as yours but a month ago I was at the gas station and I went in to buy cigarettes. I saw some other guy go in before me and as I was following him in something blew across the ground that caught my eye. turned out it was a $20 bill and some ones floating by. I assumed it was his money so as soon as I went in I saw him at the counter and I said, 'excuse me, I think you dropped your money.' he stared at me, rummaged through his pockets and realized his money had disappeared. after I gave him the money, he thanked me profusely and left. I realize that he could've been lying to me about the whole thing and that I could've been $20+ richer that day, but I also know that honesty is a rare commodity these days and that it really sucks to lose something of value. whether it was really his money or not was irrelevant to me....being honest and doing the right thing was more important.

 

[Walter Sobchak]

Fantastic! Glad to hear it.

 

[DE Shaver]

Great story. I'm glad things worked out for the best. I've had a similar situation occur when I lost my PalmPilot years ago. I was in Kansas and accidentally left it on a counter. I didn't realize I had misplaced it until I was on my way to the airport and it was too late to turn back. About two weeks later, a gentleman mails it from California. He picked it up, found my address in the unit and shipped it to me at his own expense. I was very grateful for its return.

 

[Mr. Imperial]

Awesome story! The Pacific Ocean was not so kind returning my first wedding ring .

However, probably the best experience I had was during one of my high school summers (I forget which one). I was at UNC Chapel Hill for a summer program and somehow managed to loose my wallet on Franklin. Two weeks later, I get it back to me in the mail, with all the money inside. Not only are there still decent people in the world, but there are decent college students!

 

[KarthVader]

Great thread! I always try to reunite lost belongings with their owners. If I had lost something valuable, I would hope that someone would return the favor.

I reunited a woman and her wedding ring. I found it in the parking lot of the building I work in. It looked fake, but when I picked it up, it definitely had some heft to it. I turned it in at the security desk. The public safety officer was adamant that I leave my name and number in case there was a reward. I left my name and number, but I never care about the reward in these types of situations.

I received a phone call a day later. It was the woman that had lost her ring. This is where the story gets so crazy, I almost didn't believe it myself:

The woman's ring I had found in the parking lot had belonged to her grandmother, who had escaped persecution during the Holocaust in WWII. That ring had traveled the expanse of the Atlantic to the US. The lady's grandmother had worn it through her life and passed it on to the lady's mother. The mother had three children with her husband, two boys and a girl. The husband and both sons were KIA in Vietnam. The ring was passed on to the daughter for her eventual wedding day. The daughter was the one that lost her ring.

She was going to get it resized the day she had lost it in a parking lot.

I sat there in my cubicle, jaw on the floor. I don't exactly remember what I said to her at that point, something to the extent of, "Well, I'm glad to help out wherever I can." She thanked me profusely and offered me a reward. I refused and said that I hope that she returns the favor to someone else one day.

This happened two weeks ago and the whole event still fills me with wonder.

 

[knlgskr]

Wouldn't consider not returning something if able to do so. Why? Because it is the right thing to do. Don't know about Karma, etc., but would want the same done for/to me if situation reversed. Reward? No, glad I could.