Honestly Stupid

The other night as I was driving home I had a philosophical/ethical thought pop into my mind out of the blue. Suppose I was walking along the street or a parking lot and found a wallet or purse containing a sizeable amount of cash and identification of the owner. What would I do? It is easy to answer. Or is it? Would I return it or would I just keep it? As if teasing me, fate would have it that as I alighted from my car I found a shiny new quarter on the ground. Not giving it a second thought I picked it up and put it in my pocket. The next morning I also found a penny on the ground. I'm rolling in the dough, I thought. Luck is with me this day.

But the test was put to me today. At work a lady paid for her lunch by handing me the the little black binder with her receipt and the cash inside telling me to keep the change. The bill came to $27.45. Inside the binder was a $20 bill, two $1 bills and a $100 bill. Quick addition told me there was $122.00 in here. A $94.55 tip? I'm good, but not that good.

I immediatey realized that she had meant to place a $10 bill in the place of the $100. The tip in that case would have been $4.55. Almost a $1 short of 20%, but in this day and age with the gas prices and the economy what they are I can't grumble for too long. In any event and with no thought one way or the other, I marched back out to the table and informed the lady of what I thought was a mistake. Oh, how delighted she was as to my honesty. Oh, what a great job I did. Oh, how yes she had intended for that bill to be a $10 and not a $100. She searched through her purse to find a $10 bill, but unable to find one she handed me two $20 bills and told me she needed change. I made the correct change and the lady and her little party departed. I opened the binder to find four $1 bills.

So I lost .55 cents by saving her $94. The half buck isn't a big sum for me to lose, but I imagine that if she opened her purse later and found herself to be $94 short she would have been most distraught.

I answered my question. My integrity remains intact. Lady, I lost a morsel of a gallon of gas and you gained this time. The next time you may not be as lucky for your reliance on the honesty of others may not protect you from your stupidity.