topic Re: My son finds a wallet.. in SmorgasBoard

My son finds a wallet..

Anonymous — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:19:12 GMT

On the way home from school yestarday my son finds a wallet lying in the street,Like someone tossed it out of a car.He said it was lying in the middle of road so he picked it up and brought it home. So i told him we have to find out who this belongs to and return it ASAP. This wallet looked liked it belonged to a high school kid, so i thought mabey he attends my sons school. The DL address is the same city that we live in so i said to my son lets hop in the car and go return it now. We get to the house and ask for this kid and he says yeah man thats me who are you? I said i believe my son found your wallet and he would like to return it.My son hands him the wallet the kid didnt say a word no thank you nothing he opens the wallet looks in it and closes the door in our FACE......I look at my son like what just happend? We stood there for a second staring at each other and i said lets go...

I just dont get it..............

Re: My son finds a wallet..

fishbjc — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:29:13 GMT

Now that is BAD. This ungrateful idiot deserves a good slap across the face.

Your son did a wonderful thing and KUDO's to him. I believe in Karma. What comes around, goes around!

Re: My son finds a wallet..

Anonymous — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:30:47 GMT

Because I am me, I would have knocked on the door again and asked for a parent. I would then explain that your son was nice enough to pick this wallet up, bring it home, and then take the time to return it and all their son did was closed the door in your face.

Re: My son finds a wallet..

Anonymous — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:02:37 GMT

I plan on talking to my son again today after school.I really want him to know that not everyone in the world is this stuipid. And we did do the right thing by driving across town to return it.Im still in shock over the whole thing .

Re: My son finds a wallet..

Itsmeagain — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:04:19 GMT

Carter, you are a man among men and your son is also a hero among boys. Let me share with you a life experience I had with my father in, 1957, when I was 12 . . . and I'll never forget.

My dad was an honorable man, much like you. He never missed a payment on anything in his whole life and he loved his family very much. In our rural neighborhood we had a grocer who was not liked by many because he frequently overcharged and was known to cheat on the scales a bit. He was mean to the kids and often ran us out of his store because he was afraid we were stealing.

One day dad sent me to the store. When I returned, he counted the change (as he always did). He found that the grocer had made a mistake and sent too much money back (the total was 10 cents). So, back to the store we went. Dad gave me the the dime to give to the grocer and when we walked in, I was afraid. But my dad pushed me up to the counter and I handed over the dime and in a small voice, apologized and told him he must have accidentally given me too much change.

The grocer roared at me. He loudly proclaimed that I must be an idiot since I should be able to add and subtract and went on and on about how everyone is out to get him because he is Italian and yada, yada, yada. Then he summarily dismissed both me and my dad with a wave of his hand and a disgusted expression. My dad never said a word.

When we left the store I noticed my dad was smiling and I asked him why. He turned to me and said son, that man just gave you the best reward he could have possibly given. I was stunned and looked at dad like he was crazy and then he went on; the grocer is an old, unhappy man, dad said. He has no family and his love for money has sealed his heart. He will die old and lonely. But, he has taught you a valuable lesson that you'll never forget. What's that I said. He said; when you go to bed tonight you will sleep well because your reward will come when you least expect it and it will come from your heart. Because you have been honest, even when the men around you don't honor honest men, you will think of this time and remember that the reward is in the giving, not in what you receive for it . . . And he was right . . . . I never forgot.

Let him know how special he is and other men honor and admire him for his honesty and integrity.

Best wishes,

IMA

Re: My son finds a wallet..

llecs — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:23:52 GMT

Awesome story!

Re: My son finds a wallet..

Anonymous — Fri, 08 May 2009 22:03:19 GMT

Itsmeagain wrote:
He said; when you go to bed tonight you will sleep well because your reward will come when you least expect it and it will come from your heart. Because you have been honest, even when the men around you don't honor honest men, you will think of this time and remember that the reward is in the giving, not in what you receive for it . . . And he was right . . . . I never forgot.

Agreed Awesome story.Thanks for sharing.

Re: My son finds a wallet..

Trishco — Sat, 09 May 2009 03:01:13 GMT

Wonderful story! Thank you for sharing!

Re: My son finds a wallet..

Anonymous — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:05:58 GMT

That was excellent--IMA, I enjoyed it so much I read it to my wife. I am going to share it with my brother who shares the concept of honor with you and your father.

Re: My son finds a wallet..

Imhotrodcrazy — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:09:12 GMT

Your son did an outstanding thing by bringing it home and to your attention. It shows he was brought up with values thanks to you. Unfortunately, he saw some of the bad things in life. At 67 yrs old myself, I am always amazed at the lack of respect and moral decay today. Thank you for sharing a good story with us on the forum. Kudos to your son, and you.

Re: My son finds a wallet..

Itsmeagain — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:18:10 GMT

Thank you all for your comments. Although I'm 63 now, that little lesson in life has never been far from my concious awareness and has help guide me through some very tough decisions. My dad will be smiling now, knowing that I shared it with you.

Kudos to all who posted and kudos also to those who just read it and understand.

Re: My son finds a wallet..

Anonymous — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:24:41 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
On the way home from school yestarday my son finds a wallet lying in the street,Like someone tossed it out of a car.He said it was lying in the middle of road so he picked it up and brought it home. So i told him we have to find out who this belongs to and return it ASAP. This wallet looked liked it belonged to a high school kid, so i thought mabey he attends my sons school. The DL address is the same city that we live in so i said to my son lets hop in the car and go return it now. We get to the house and ask for this kid and he says yeah man thats me who are you? I said i believe my son found your wallet and he would like to return it.My son hands him the wallet the kid didnt say a word no thank you nothing he opens the wallet looks in it and closes the door in our FACE......I look at my son like what just happend? We stood there for a second staring at each other and i said lets go...
I just dont get it..............

That's too bad that the kid who got the wallet back was apparently ungrateful.

However, a good lesson to teach your son is that doing the right thing is not for reward, but for the honor and integrity of the person doing it.

If we do the right thing without expectation of reward, doing right being the reward, then we will never be dissatisfied with the outcome, and occassionally will be pleasantly surprised by some reciprocation.

This is what I "try" to teach my children. Treat others the way you would want to be treated, even if they don't apparently deserve it (yes the good old golden rule). And look for the reward of helping others, not the praise of others.

Kudos to your son and to you for taking the time to teach such an important life lesson. The character and moral fiber you build is the true reward that cannot be swayed by other's opinion nor actions.

Whether the other person appeared to reciprocate, it did and will have some effect upon that person. To what degree or in what manner you may never know. But you can have faith that you planted a seed which may sprout into something you never imagined.

Always Pay it Forward, without regret and without alterior motive.

Re: My son finds a wallet..

Itsmeagain — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:37:18 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Always Pay it Forward, without regret and without alterior motive.

Sage advice (even if you did misspell "ulterior" ) . . . .

Message Edited by Itsmeagain on 05-12-2009 10:37 AM