dear stranger, thank you

the other day, deciding that less was more i grabbed only my debit card and the checks i needed to deposit. there wasn’t a line so i just stepped right up and inserted my card. the screen prompted me to push some buttons, seal the envelope, and feed it to the hungry machine. a receipt was burped out for me documenting my deposit. i grabbed said receipt and hobbled back to my car like an ATM using penguin. imagine!

the small parking lot was swarming with activity. checking all mirrors i slowly backed out and navigated my way towards the exit.

my attention quickly turned from parking lot chaos to the weather. the wind was blowing and the rain had started up again. nothing like a spring day to confuse the hell out of you!

it was still raining when my friend and i met up for lunch the next day. after food and great conversation it was time to go back to work. approaching the register, i reached for my debit card. it wasn't in the little slot it normally lives in so i rummaged thru the rest of my purse. nothing. reaching into my coat pocket i found the receipt from my transaction the night before but no card.

oh no!

i try very hard to stay calm when it feels natural to panic. there was no pretending to be ignorant at this point. i've had my wallet stolen before. images of my bank account being cleaned out with dust pans and vacuums…(kidding!) crossed my mind.

luckily my credit card was in my purse otherwise i would have had to wash dishes or bus tables to cover lunch.

back at work i immediately called the bank to see if the machine had swallowed my card. the employee said she would check the vault. that's when i was reminded of a scene from finding nemo...when dorey and nemo were in the belly of the giant whale...that's how i envisioned my card--inside the giant belly of a vault. anyway...

my phone rang shortly after....crossing my fingers, i answered. it was the employee.

no luck.

another bout of panic. looking at my computer screen, it was obvious that i wouldn't be able to focus on work as long as my card was missing in action.

perhaps it was in my car?? nope.

ok, armpits were now sweating.i needed to go home and check my work pants. maybe it was in my pocket?

that's when i heard my phone ring-again!...it was the same employee who had just called.

"emilee, it's so and so calling from so and so bank...(big gulp by me) the guy who used the machine after you-- found your card and took it so that no one else would and just dropped it off"

......pause.....

"hello?" she said.

my mouth was open but words weren't coming out. it wasn't until that moment that i vaguely remembered seeing the guy who pulled up after me. there was no way i could id him in a line-up; thankfully i wouldn't have to...but what if i ran into him on the street? i'd like to be able to recognize him enough to thank him..."yes, yes..oh my gosh thank you soo much"
"PLEASE tell him THANK YOU" i exclaimed.

she said she would do so. she also told me that i could come down and get my card although they highly recommended me canceling it just to be safe. (obviously this sounded like a good idea but it was hard to imagine that i still needed to take extra precautions given he had just returned my card! but it's better to be safe than sorry...right?)

while i realize that this guy is probably not going to stumble across my blog...i wanted to thank him anyway, and equally as important, thank anyone who has ever done something like this. much of what we hear about in the media is negative...which is sad given all the good that people do. good like this guy did.

dear stranger, thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!!