It's such a relief getting things you thought you'd lost back, isn't it?
To this day, I'm always sure these things will work out and that the "kindness of strangers" will prevail, which my cynical mom finds hopelessly naive. But last year, on a trip to Rome, I forgot my small backpack in the taxi from the airport to the hotel. It had nothing important really, just some tampons, my cellphone, my wallet, my ipod, my camera, and our video camera. (At least, I hoped that's where I'd forgotten it, otherwise I'd have no clue where it was.) Luckily we had taken the cab company's card, and the hotel's Italian-speaking concierge called them, and they said they'd try to track down the driver. My mom was sure there wasn't a chance someone hadn't taken it, especially in Rome where according to her everyone will try to rip you off. The next morning, the driver arrived at the hotel and returned the bag. And so I got my tampons back, whew.
LOL. Because everyone knows that in Rome not only will everyone try to rip you off, but also none of the stores sell sanitary products.
It's such a relief getting things you thought you'd lost back, isn't it?
The insistence on optimism tends to dull the relief at finding whatever was missing, but yes, it's always nice to have your things back in your possession.
To this day, I'm always sure these things will work out and that the "kindness of strangers" will prevail, which my cynical mom finds hopelessly naive.
Heh. I hear you. Searching for lost objects is actually one of the few areas of life in which I'm not cynical. The classic example of this situation in my family is similar to the story you've told: We had just gotten off an overnight flight to England and were all exhausted -- I was 13 at the time, and it was everyone's first transatlantic trip -- and in all the confusion of trying to locate the bus to the train station to continue to a relative's house further north, my parents left a briefcase full of itineraries and
( ... )
Aside from the fact that it's helpful to remain calm in situations like that, it's also quite fun to lord it over other people when they panic and you don't, isn't it?
2006 was the year of lost and found for me, though not always in the most timely fashion. In April, I lost my cell phone and didn't get around to replacing it until June. The next day was Father's Day and S and I took Dad pitch and putting. Afterwards, we stopped at her place to switch into one car, but Dad stopped in the bus zone and the bus was coming, so we raced from my car to his. In the process, my wallet fell out of my pocket. Meanwhile S was freaking out, because she couldn't find her watch and rings in her bag, and then I realized my wallet was missing when I looked for change for parking, so we raced back up to S's place to check my car and the area around it. In the process of ransacking my car, S discovered my old cell phone under the driver's seat. No sign of the wallet, though
( ... )
What an unexpected way to be reunited with your wallet! Fabulous. Although I thought the funniest part of the story was, "In the process of ransacking my car, S discovered my old cell phone under the driver's seat." Belongs in a comedy.
I lost my entire pocketbook once at a function I was attending as a PR intern. Everyone got big paper shopping bags with an assortment of gifts and samples, and I'd put my pocketbook in mine for safekeeping while I was away from the table. When I went back to my seat to fetch my keys to drive home, though, my pocketbook was gone. It being highly unlikely someone would have stolen it at an event like that (despite what my somewhat hysterical co-worker believed), I figured the man next to me had inadvertently taken my gift bag with him when he left. So I had one of my parents bring a spare car key, got the name of my table-neighbor and called him up, and got my bag back by FedEx the next day. And all was well.
That's a great story - I'm never that calm when I lose things. Normally I freak out for at least a few minutes before settling down to deal with the situation, though I've gotten better with age (probably because I get a lot of practice).
The last time I lost my wallet (prior to the Father's Day fiasco), I replaced it with one that had a chain I could attach to my jacket zipper. My friend K told me I looked ridiculous and I explained that even if my wallet fell out of my pocket I wouldn't lose it. I went to demonstrate and the chain immediately broke.
I live my live in a permanently forgetful state, and if I panicked every time I lost something, I'd also live in a permanently panicked state. The kindness of strangers has rarely let me down, and very few things have disappeared permanently.
The best one was when I lost my mobile phone. Sensibly, I rang it and, after several attempts, it was answered. It transpired that I'd left it at Euston train station, and that it was being held in th ticket office for me. It was easily identifiable as it had a Spiderman cover on it and was in an Eeyore carry-case, both of which had the advantage of rendering it theif proof. How do you resell a phone like that?
When I went to pick it up, with profusive thanks to the staff, the first thing they wanted to know was where the case came from because they all wanted one!
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To this day, I'm always sure these things will work out and that the "kindness of strangers" will prevail, which my cynical mom finds hopelessly naive. But last year, on a trip to Rome, I forgot my small backpack in the taxi from the airport to the hotel. It had nothing important really, just some tampons, my cellphone, my wallet, my ipod, my camera, and our video camera. (At least, I hoped that's where I'd forgotten it, otherwise I'd have no clue where it was.) Luckily we had taken the cab company's card, and the hotel's Italian-speaking concierge called them, and they said they'd try to track down the driver. My mom was sure there wasn't a chance someone hadn't taken it, especially in Rome where according to her everyone will try to rip you off. The next morning, the driver arrived at the hotel and returned the bag. And so I got my tampons back, whew.
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It's such a relief getting things you thought you'd lost back, isn't it?
The insistence on optimism tends to dull the relief at finding whatever was missing, but yes, it's always nice to have your things back in your possession.
To this day, I'm always sure these things will work out and that the "kindness of strangers" will prevail, which my cynical mom finds hopelessly naive.
Heh. I hear you. Searching for lost objects is actually one of the few areas of life in which I'm not cynical. The classic example of this situation in my family is similar to the story you've told: We had just gotten off an overnight flight to England and were all exhausted -- I was 13 at the time, and it was everyone's first transatlantic trip -- and in all the confusion of trying to locate the bus to the train station to continue to a relative's house further north, my parents left a briefcase full of itineraries and ( ... )
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(Or is that just me?)
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I lost my entire pocketbook once at a function I was attending as a PR intern. Everyone got big paper shopping bags with an assortment of gifts and samples, and I'd put my pocketbook in mine for safekeeping while I was away from the table. When I went back to my seat to fetch my keys to drive home, though, my pocketbook was gone. It being highly unlikely someone would have stolen it at an event like that (despite what my somewhat hysterical co-worker believed), I figured the man next to me had inadvertently taken my gift bag with him when he left. So I had one of my parents bring a spare car key, got the name of my table-neighbor and called him up, and got my bag back by FedEx the next day. And all was well.
Reply
The last time I lost my wallet (prior to the Father's Day fiasco), I replaced it with one that had a chain I could attach to my jacket zipper. My friend K told me I looked ridiculous and I explained that even if my wallet fell out of my pocket I wouldn't lose it. I went to demonstrate and the chain immediately broke.
Reply
The best one was when I lost my mobile phone. Sensibly, I rang it and, after several attempts, it was answered. It transpired that I'd left it at Euston train station, and that it was being held in th ticket office for me. It was easily identifiable as it had a Spiderman cover on it and was in an Eeyore carry-case, both of which had the advantage of rendering it theif proof. How do you resell a phone like that?
When I went to pick it up, with profusive thanks to the staff, the first thing they wanted to know was where the case came from because they all wanted one!
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