Well, it's about time to tell you what's been on my mind for the past few days. One morning this week, as I made my way to my car, I saw some money lying on the ground. I glanced around, picked it up, got in my car, and drove to work.
As soon as I picked up the money, I felt bad about it. I wondered if that was the right thing to do. If you leave the money there, someone else is just going to come along and pick it up. After thinking about it for most of the morning, I decided to get another opinion.
Me: So, this morning, on the way to my car, I saw some money on the ground and...
Friend_1: You picked it up, right? How much did you score?
This put my mind a little at ease, but I still felt as if there was some kind of wrongdoing. I mean, what if the money had some kind of significance.
Friend_2: Well, you have to put up a sign in your building. If they can tell you how much they lost, you give it back to them.
Friend_3: You can't do that. What if they say that they don't remember exactly how much they lost, but it was theirs and they want it back? Things could get real ugly and you could be in physical danger.
Friend_4: You don't want to screw up your money karma, you have to do something about it.
So, I've pretty much decided that once I picked up the money, there was nothing I could do to get it back to the person who lost it. And, if I had just left it there, I would have felt pretty silly for leaving a bunch of money on the ground. I still feel uneasy about it and it still lies on my bedside table. I guess that's better than the parking lot asphalt.
So, dear reader, I pose two questions:
1) The next time I see a wad of cash on the ground, do I pick it up?
2) What should we do with the money? Do Kate and I go out for a nice dinner that is basically free? Do we buy something special, a constant reminder of the found money? Do we make a trip to the casino and see how lucky this money is? Do we give it away to someone in need?
I had time to discuss this issue with the village elders and this is the resolution they passed down.
"You must call the office. Tell them that you found some money in the parking lot and wanted to know if anyone has come in to ask about it. Tell them that you will call again in a week to check if anyone has come in to ask about it. If, after the week is over, nobody has come in to ask about it, it is yours."
Sounds like some sage advice to me.
Posted at 07:54:15 | TrackBack