The Earth Moved On Valentines Day

Apparently we had an earthquake. I also apparently missed it. Not saying that earthquakes are exciting adventures to be experienced, but feeling the earth actually move on Valentines Day is a bit poetic. Maybe, (hopefully) it's a positive sign of the love for one another and the kindness towards our fellow humankind out there. There's snow on the ground that juxtaposes with the warm colors of rose petals warmly given and lovingly received on this day of love....maybe that juxtaposition here in the south has something to do with the movement of this continent's easternmost plate boundaries. Who knows! Fortunately, there seems to be no reports of major damage or life loss. We should take it as a sign that enough love in the world actually Can move mountains!

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

Continuation of the Wallet Lessons ....

Many of you know that my wallet was stolen about 2 weeks ago, and that I learned a number of life lessons from reflection upon the experience.  Those lessons have definitely continued!  Through the process of canceling and reordering or replacing all the elements of my life contained in that wallet, I have discovered the following ....

1. There are so many people out there who are wonderful and helpful and willing to empathize. At the grocery store when ID is needed to validate a purchase, but all you have is an expired one because your new one hasn't shown up yet after reordering, or bank customer service spending extra time making sure that the system recognizes your new joint account card, even though you have yet to receive your new passcode, or going to the pharmacy to refill a prescription and the pharmacy tech simply pulls your past information so that you don't have to worry about the insurance cards you haven't received replacement on yet .... restoration of faith in strangers.
2. I am with someone who completely supports, assists, and goes above and beyond even though it may disrupt his life.  The fact that we had to pre-plan so that he got cash out for me so that I could grocery shop or even just basic function for the week and he automatically did without thought, the fact that when my new debit card came in from the bank and wouldn't work correctly he left work to come meet me so that I wasn't stuck at the grocery store and unable to make rehearsal on time, which was his immediate reaction.  No repercussions, no issues, no annoyed sighs or exasperated glances.  Just automatic done.  He's a keeper on so many levels.
3. There are bigger problems in the world out there than searching for the downtrodden jerk who created this issue in the first place.  I watch the news and see people that have been shot, or fires that have been set, or children that have suffered abuse at the hands of those they trusted, or horrible occurrences happening throughout the world ... my issue, while sometimes all-encompassing and definitely stress-making in my life, is far less important in the grand scheme of things than any of these other things.  I have a police report, and, while everything was being reported, I had the total concentration of some really wonderful officers of the law who embodied everything that one would hope for during a time such as that.  Hopefully the person will be caught, but I would fully expect and rather that they focus on the larger problems of the world than my, by comparison, important to me but less important in the big picture issue.

There you are.  Just had to get that out.  Happy Monday to everyone!

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

To The Man Who Stole My Wallet Yesterday

Dear Sir:

Please understand that the only reason I use the gentlemanly term of "sir", is because of your advanced age bracket, because what you did was not at at gentlemanly!  Yes, I do know what you look like. I remember you. You got onto the bus yesterday at the same place I did. I remember you sat down a couple rows behind me, and your beard and countenance reminded me of some sweet, grandfatherly figure ... or at least I thought so at the time. I wonder if you watched as I reached into the pocket of my bag to pull out my gloves just before my stop. I wonder if you saw my wallet fall out of that pocket as I did so, or if you simply noticed it as I stood up to disembark. I was the only person in that seat section, so it would have been obvious to whom the wallet belonged.

Did you know that I was on the way to meet my son? Five minutes after disembarking, as I walked into his music class to pay his tuition, I noticed that it was missing. Did you realize that the android phone you so unceremoniously chucked into that trashcan has GPS tracking? We were able to find it that way. Thank you, by the way, for simply throwing it in the trash. That's one less thing I have to replace.

You are actually quite photogenic. The video surveillance cameras in the store where you threw my phone away and then proceeded to rent Redbox movies using my bankcard were pointed right at you. The police have those, and some very good close up shots of you as you made your movie purchases. They were able to watch your every move. I hope those were fantastic movies. They just might cost you a lot more than you originally anticipated.

Your choice of action has caused me to contemplate many things as I go through the motions of reporting, canceling, and replacing all the parts of my life that were in that wallet. Yes, you did, in fact, have a choice. You could have alerted me to the wallet dropping or you could have turned it in to the bus driver. I have no idea of what your circumstances are. I'm sure that there is a reason you made the choice that you did. Maybe you've been out of work for some time, or maybe you were depressed, needed a relaxing movie evening, and felt that was the only way you could afford one. Whatever your reason, I am sure you thought it to be a valid one at the time. Unfortunate and misguided, but valid in your mind nonetheless ... it sucks for you that the only cash I had in there was about 35 cents.

I'd like to let you know a little about the woman you stole from. I am a single mother that is back in college after being laid off from my job over a year ago. I'm definitely a people person, and probably would have rented you those movies myself had you only asked politely. I tend to be impulsive and impatient at times, so this experience has been a great lesson in patience development for me, which is a good thing. It has also helped me with prioritizing skills over the past 24 hours. You see, in the middle of all the obvious things that were happening like freaking out over the loss of my wallet and phone, filing the report, canceling the id's and cards, and spending time with my son, I also had a number of things due for classes today and tomorrow. It really helps to know that I have the ability to navigate a whirlwind of stress, such as the one you created, and still am able to meet my school deadlines and focus on and assist my children. I appreciate the gift of that knowledge. Finally, it has caused me to truly evaluate and appreciate the things in my life that are not just "things". My mother, my boyfriend, and my son, who braved the freezing temperatures in that parking lot for over two hours while we worked with the police and assisted in any way possible with the legwork and computer tracking. The off duty officer who initially assisted me, then continued to work with us and the on duty officer who arrived shortly after to officially handle the case. Both of them were wonderful, intelligent,  efficient, and comforting, and we all even shared a few laughs in spite of the cold and frustration. The immediate helpfulness of the store management once they were informed of the situation. The fact that I am fortunate enough to have a thick, warm jacket to wear, a supportive, loving family to back me up, a warm, comfortable home to return to and eat hot soup after being in a frozen parking lot for all that time ... It is definitely the little things that are many times taken for granted that make life wonderful, and I am thankful your actions were able to remind me of that.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate the unintentional lessons and wish good luck to you. I firmly believe that there is good somewhere in everyone and that even the most horrible experiences have silver linings somewhere.  I hope you read this and that you'll make better choices for your own life in the future.

Sincerely,
The Girl In The Little Black Dress