The Good Samaritan

There is nothing worse than losing stuff that's important and hard to replace, like your wallet. I lost my wallet at a Diamondbacks game a few years ago - I prefer to say it was stolen just to make myself feel less irresponsible, but that's probably not the case. It was an awful experience, new credit cards, new driver's license, insurance cards, temple recommend and most importantly, my various collections of frequent dining cards. You would think that I would be worried about losing my cash, but I don't ever have any, so it's never a problem.

With that in mind, fast forward two years to yesterday afternoon. I had just finished my Monday afternoon ritual of working out at the gym and getting the kids out of the childcare while Michelle teaches her Monday night muscle and bootcamp classes. I was carrying Kate and holding the keys to the car, my wallet and an empty bottle that Kate had just finished and trying to make sure that my other three kids didn't get hit by a car in the parking lot. Needless to say, my hands were full.

We got to the car and I unlocked the door using the actual key and not a remote because I didn't have one, and I put the bottle and my wallet and the keys on top of the car so I could strap Kate into her carseat. For a split second, I remember thinking to myself, "don't leave that bottle on top of the car, Michelle would be so mad at you." Really? Anyway, because it was 150 degrees inside the car, it took a little longer than normal to get Kate strapped in. I grabbed the bottle, smiling to myself thinking, "You are such a good husband and what a wonderful memory you have", and I got in the car and drove home.

We had been home for about 20 minutes when there was a knock on our front door. I opened the door to find a man who I had never seen before but who I won't soon forget. He didn't say much except that he found my wallet in the middle of the street and found my address from my driver's license. He also said that he didn't know how many credit cards I had but that he hoped he had found them all. Apparently, he spent some time in the street searching for my cards and putting them all back in my wallet before bringing it to my doorstep. Most surprisingly, all $68 that were in my wallet before I left it on the roof of my car were still in my wallet.

He didn't leave his name, he wouldn't let me give him any money (believe me, I tried) and he was very quiet and unassuming. All he said as he left was, "I have lost a wallet before, and I would have loved if someone would have brought it back to me with everything still in it." I wish I knew his name and address so I could do something for him.

In a world that is becoming more and more depressing as the days go by and where there is a severe shortage of good, honest people, it was refreshing to be reminded that there are still some good people out there. Of all the people that could have driven by after my wallet fell off my car, I certainly am grateful that it was that particular man who decided to be a good samaritan. I hope somebody does something real nice for him today.