It's the Thought That Counts

On the Upper East Side of Manhattan, I constantly find things that people have "lost" on the sidewalk such as baby pacifiers, water bottles and single gloves. Usually, these items are left on nearby ledges or  mailboxes in the hopes (too high) that the people who lost them will remember when and where they did so and be looking for them the next time they walk down the same street. The likelihood of these things being reunited with their owners? Zero to nil.

But what happens if the lost item is more valuable such as a cell phone or wallet? These are often brought to the nearest police station where it is trusted they will be kept secure until the owner is contacted and retrieves them. And what is to be done with a set of keys, perhaps with nothing on them to identify the owner? Are they too important to leave on a ledge? Well, a considerate person in my neighborhood recently thought so and took the time to bring the keys to a nearby locksmith's shop and then post a laminated sign on the lamp post where the keys were (presumably) found. The likelihood of them getting back to their owner? Zero to nil, but it's the thought that counts!

A Teachable Moment ~ for Me!

My HS students are working feverishly to have Sweet Charity - the Musical ready for performance. We were missing a bow tie for Matthew who is playing the waiter and my favorite vintage clothing store, Cheap Jacks, moved from 14th St. (right near school) to 31st St. a year ago. So, before our after-school rehearsal started, I scooted uptown on the subway and as I was walking up the steps to the street I noticed a zippered pouch that was open and its contents partially spilled out. I picked it up and turned back down to give it to the toll booth person, forgetting that I had exited at the front of the train where there was no "person." I zipped up the bag, put it in my pocketbook and decided I'd deal with it when I got back to school.

When I did, I found the pouch contained a woman's US passport, her checkbook, some keys and luckily an address book which contained her phone number on the first page. I called her and told her I had found her bag, what was still in it and that I would drop it off at a local police precinct after my rehearsal. When she asked me where I was and I told her, she knew the school and had even attended it herself for night school classes. She said she would be there within the hour and I proceeded with rehearsal.

When she arrived, I was backstage and the students had to come get me to say there was a "lady looking for me." When I returned her bag, she thanked me profusely, asked if she could "give me something" and when I said no (unless she wanted to come back and see one of the performances), she was on her way.

My students wanted to know "who that was." I thought recounting a brief version of the story would be a teachable moment... how to return lost things to their owners, paying it forward etc. Instead four students recounted stories of their own good samaritanship...and in each case they went to much more trouble than I did to do the right thing. It was indeed a teachable moment - for me!