Okay it's 4:33 in the morning and I am up late, because (no surprise) I can't sleep. I guess my body is on overload again. It seems to happen every once and awhile, especially when I have to work 6 days in a row, and out of two of those days I'm closing and then opening the next day.
A couple of days ago I walked to work, which I have been doing a lot of lately. For some reason I saw to pennies on the ground so I picked them up for good luck and to make some wishes. Then it occurred to me. Why don't I ever find any paper money on the ground (the moolah, big money)? I know someone probably shot those pennies on the ground, and I admit that I ain't to proud to pick them up either. My Grandfather taught me that saving anything including pennies is worth it, because even pennies add up! Still though, I don't seem to find any dollah-dollahs on the ground.
Well actually 4 or 5 years back (I can't remember how many years actually, I just remember) I saw a wallet on the ground on Humboldt street, on my way home from work. Like in the video game Indigo Prophecy I had to make some choices, but my choices were affected by a news segment that I saw on News Channel 8 a few years before this. They did a segment on honesty and they put a wallet on the ground to see what someone would do if they saw it and picked it up off the ground. Some kept the wallet and kept trucking, some people were honest and gave it to the person they thought "dropped" it. Guess where News Channel 8 is located???...Humboldt St. I saw a black wallet on the ground, and I saw a guy across the street, sitting on the bench, who "looked" like he was waiting for a bus. What should I do? Should I pick up the wallet? If I do, should I keep it? Where do I turn it in? Is this another one of those honesty segments and am I being used as a guinea pig? Should I just leave it there? I chose to just leave it be. I didn't want any drama to my life and I definitely didn't want to be on TV. I don't know what ever happened to that wallet, I guess I never will. I'm just curious as to what happened to it when someone eventually found it.
Sidenote: This could have been an "Everyday Life" on honesty.
Well there is something else that played a factor into my decision to just leave the wallet there. One day when I was walking to a store called CVS, I saw a ten dollar bill on the ground. I picked it up, and I was like, "This is my lucky day". About 20 feet ahead of me I saw this little girl, who looked like she lost something. I made a decision that still bothers me to this day. I kept the ten dollar bill and went to CVS and went shopping. When I came back out, I saw the little girl sitting on the little wooden fence that went around CVS plaza, talking to a couple of Mormons. She looked upset, and you know what I did, I walked home as if I didn't even care. It never even occurred to me that the money could have been her parents, or that she was going to the store to buy something for mom. For all I know she was going to pick up a prescription. So yes it really bothers me today! The Charles that I am today, regrets what the Charles of my past did.
Now I am trying to make up for that dishonesty, by being honest. When I am at work and I see people drop some money, I make them aware of it. When someone leaves the desk without getting there change, I make them aware of it. When someone gives me too much money I tell them and give it back, although some customers never honestly tell me when I give them too much. NO matter how many times I have honestly given people back there money, it still doesn't make a difference on the regret I have for not giving the girl that $10. Maybe I'm not finding any big dollah- dollahs because, that one day was a test, and I failed. Maybe not, but if this situation ever comes up again, I will give to the person.
Myth & Magic: Ireland's Fairy Tales
2 years ago
1 comment:
I think a lot of people don't realize the repercussions when they're given too much change at a store and they don't give it back. I worked at one place in high school and a girl was FIRED because her till was two dollars short. TWO DOLLARS. At that store, everything had to balance to the penny at the end of the day.
I even had people try to rip me off with the old "I gave you a twenty dollar bill" when they really only gave me a five or a ten. I started laying their bills on the top of the register where I could plainly see it as I counted out their change. If there was ever an argument, I could say, "No, you gave me a five and here it is!"
As far as the money you found... well, you may have been instantly richer when you found it, but in the long run I think you are richer for the experience, Charles. All kinds of experiences, both good and bad, lead to our maturity and appreciation for what we have. You now realize that it is indeed better to be honest and not take what isn't rightfully yours.
Finders isn't always keepers.
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