What would you do if you found a roll of cash in a restaurant ? Would you instantly scoop it up and put it in your pocket or purse and keep it ?
Would you discreetly seek out the manager of the establishment and tell them of your find ? Perhaps you might bring the money home, then place a Lost and Found ad in a local newspaper or online or you might call the local police department and ask them what to do.
Another option, one that some people may consider to be stupid, is announcing aloud that someone dropped their money roll.
Well, the above scenario really did happen to me and I really did announce aloud that I found the money. Call me stupid, but I honestly think I did the right thing. The incident happened approximately three years ago and I sometimes wonder if I did the right thing.
It was a Saturday afternoon and I was hanging several of my paintings in the front gallery space at a very busy West Hartford, Connecticut chain coffee shop location.
After I visited the men’s room, I was returning to the gallery area when I spotted a fairly substantial roll of dollar bills inside of an expensive-looking money clip. The money was in the middle of the floor, about ten feet from the beverage pick-up counter.
It seemed apparent to me that the money was probably dropped from someone’s pocket when they were picking up their beverage. It wasn’t there two minutes earlier, when I walked to the men’s room.
In a split second, I picked up the roll of bills, the top of which was either a 20 or 50 dollar bill. Instantaneously, I scanned the immediate area near where the money was dropped. There were two small tables, with a couple of people seated at one table and one man approximately 65 or 70 years old seated at the other. The man was not sitting there when I walked by moments earlier. He stood out because he was wearing a cowboy hat with feathers on it.
To this day, I don’t know if it was stupidly or not, but I asked aloud “Did someone drop a money clip ?”.
Instantly, the man with the cowboy hat said something to the effect of “Wait a minute”. He stood up, checked his pockets, then looked at the money clip in my hand and calmly said “Yes, that’s mine. Thank you.” The man reached out to take the money clip and I handed it to him. He nodded, then sat back down with his newspaper and beverage and I resumed hanging paintings.
As I think about that scenario three years later, I honestly think I did the right thing. It was obvious to me that somebody had very recently dropped it and I guess it would seem like stealing to me, if I didn’t try to reunite the moolah with its owner.
Who knows ? Maybe the man in the feathered cowboy hat was an opportunist who happened to see a goldmine in front of him. Given the situation, though, I believe it really was his money.
Even though I could certainly use the money, I’m pleased with the way the situation worked out.
What do you think you would do if you were in the same situation ?
Sources :
My own personal experience