Have you ever lost a wallet and then had it returned, complete with contents? It happened to me a few years ago while Christmas shopping. I went back to the shop where I thought I’d left it and was told a high school boy had taken it, leaving his name and phone number at the shop. When I rang, the boy returned it, including all my Christmas shopping cash. I can’t describe the relief!
Talking about this with friends recently, Alison told how she found a wallet while holidaying in Noosa, and returned it to the owner before he even realised he’d lost it.
But the most moving story was about a young American couple backpacking around New Zealand. The man’s wallet fell out of his backpack on the bus between Raglan and Hamilton and he thought it was lost for good. The couple were amazed when the bus driver turned up at the backpackers’ where they were staying and handed over the wallet. The driver had found it, figured out who it belonged to and, having heard them talking, realised they were staying at a backpackers in Raglan. He drove out there to return it in his own time, leaving this American couple with a very complimentary view of New Zealand hospitality.