Would You Give Back $65,000 You Found?
October 6th, 2007
Yahoo News reported today that Debbie Cole, a county garbage operations employee in St Petersburg, FLA did just that.
Seems a bag full of $50 and $100 fell out of the back of a Loomis truck about 1/2 hour before Cole found it. She immediately contacted her supervisor who in turn notified authorities. So far she has been offered no reward from Loomis and her boss says the best he can give her is the possibility of time off.
When asked if she thought, even for a second, about keeping the money she replied, “To be honest, no. It didn’t even cross my mind.”
I know I’d have turned it in but not until I took a long time to think about it. $65,000 would sure clear up some debt and leave me enough for a massage too. It would have been very tempting, but I am happy honest people, still exist. How about you? Would you have turned it in, without a moment’s hesitation? Would you have kept it?
October 13th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Give it back. Simplicity demands giving it back. It’s not mine! The result of giving it back is a clear mind. I find that being satisfied with my life the way it is is a kind of prosperity frugal living gives that feeling and faith is my connection with the wisdom to guide me regarding what the result will be down the road if I do a certain thing. Wisdom gives wonderful and happy insights into how your life proceeds and the rewards are the strength to face anything that might come up.
Keeping that money would mean always having the stress of wondering if you did
the right thing and of course common sense would tell you up front that keeping
the money would not be the right thing to do. Always do the right thing as
your conscience advises. If you do the wrong thing too many times, you will put your conscience to sleep and some day you will truly regret it. Doug
October 15th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Hear, Hear! I agree. If everyone chose to live their lives this way, the world would be a much better place. Right is right and wrong is just not something you should do. Seems simple to me. Simple but not easy. It’s hard to watch people prosper from doing illegal or immoral things without any obvious consequence but at the end of the day I like myself and that’s more important than matierial things!
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Doug!