Doing the right thing

On 6/13/13 I was leaving the gym, and I was jogging through the parking lot back to my car when I screeched to a halt because something caught my eye: something on the ground between 2 parked cars that looked like a checkbook. I went over to investigate it and picked up a bundle: it was a checkbook and 2 thin planners rubber-banded together. It looked like something that someone didn't mean to drop on the ground! I opened them up and there was even a $100 bill sitting inside one of the planners. I looked for contact info, but could only find other people's numbers, so I started to call the ones written at the top of the list. I picked people to call with last names that matched the last name of the people listed on the checkbook. Turns out I'd found an elderly couple's stuff, and I was able to reach their out-of-state adult children to obtain their cell phone number. I met them at the gym shortly later to return their lost items, and they were so relieved and happy that the woman stuffed a $20 bill in my hand for their appreciation. Later in the day, one of their daughters I had called phoned me to thank me for doing that for their parents. :D

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I have more cool stories like this one from my past! Here is another:

One time when I was in elementary school, I think 5th grade, I was playing in the ball room at Chuck E Cheese, and I found a man's wallet! It was FULL of a bunch of cash too! I turned the wallet into the manager, who told me that the man who's wallet I'd found had been frantic and asking if anyone had found it. The manager rewarded me with 2 rolls of tokens for my honesty.  :)
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Around the same age as the last story, sometime when I was a kid, I was sitting in a tube floating around the lazy river at the theme park, Fiesta Texas, in San Antonio, TX, when I spotted a little black draw-string purse floating in the water right next to me. I grabbed it, and upon opening it, was shocked to see a large roll of cash! Mainly $20 bills. I got out of the river and showed my mom, and with her help, we were able to find the owners of the lost money. They were 2 young girls and that was their entire vacation money they'd lost! They sent me a thank you letter with a photo of themselves, expressing their gratitude that their money was returned. I still have the letter to this day. :)
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It feels awesome to do good deeds. Go forth and look for ways to help others!

~Mandelyn Reese 
The LA Street Angel
6/14/13