lost my mind...again

We were eating dinner at Mandi's house tonight & the doorbell rang.  Nate came back saying there was a young boy asking who drove the Ford F-250.  Jim jumped up.  The boy handed him the keys.  The keys he found in the mailbox two streets over.  The keys I had left hanging in the mailbox lock in my excitement about good mail from JoDee (which I'll have to officially chronicle later).   The boy saw the keys, pulled them out, and biked around the neighborhood clicking the remote unlock in front of all things Ford.

Reasons why we're lucky: 

1.  I got the mail right before coming to Mandi's and had been there an hour already.  Jim had just shown up with his truck about five minutes before the boy came to the door.  If he had passed this street trying earlier and given up, no keys for us. 

2.  My only mail key.  To the mailbox that holds my bank statements, my magazines, my grocery ads (ha ha...as if I pore over those!  Mandi did have me price matching at WalMart last week.  I plan to do this more.).

3.  Jim happens to like his truck.   

Jim gave me a Look that required no words to be understood, then, my copy of his keys in hand, jumped in his truck & drove off.  To find the boy.  To say thank you.  To give him whatever spare cash happened to be in his pocket.   

There is some other worldly force that watches over me, just waiting for such lapses.  I know this.

 

A lifetime ago (before husband & kids), I went on a solo trip to New York.  I was ready to see it all, at my own pace, in my own way.  Selfish, but beautiful.  Plenty of spending money lined the pockets of my lovely new leather bag (ah, those long gone days of earning your own money and - dare I say? - living with your parents).  The bag, yes, I loved it.  And I had a substantial wad of cash in it.  Not to mention Visa, I.D., cell phone.  And - in my flurry of excitement -  I left it in the taxi when he dropped me off at my vacation abode (my gone-for-the-summer friend's apartment a few blocks from Central Park...more uncanny Luck).  Of course, I didn't realize the bag was missing until about 20 minutes after said dropping.  Pure horror. 

I flew down the stairs and out the door just as a taxi pulled up in front of me.  My taxi.  The one that had left me nearly a half hour earlier.  He had my bag, everything in place, but with the addition of a note from a beautiful New York stranger.  She wrote that she paid the cab to return my bag and hoped I had a wonderful trip (yes, the bag was full of maps & plans) in this wonderful city.  I did. Thanks to power beyond my own forgetfullness.  

So, I love New York.

And I love a little boy on a bicycle who took the time to make a quest.  And I love Jim for not yelling.  And for chasing down the bicycle boy. 

And, while I hope for a day when I won't require such close watching over, I'm grateful for the tender mercies granted.

Comments

[Kelly]

This is pure Amy. Love it, love it!

[jenny c.]

Wow! Those are quite some stories. Lucky indeed.

[Michelle]

Amy, you, and I do have so much in common! I am forever misplacing something. I am so glad the keys where returned!

[Megan]

I guess Angel Gabriel really is sitting on your shoulder!

[sista #2]

I LOVE this story!! I have often remarked, "only in Mesa!" now I can say NYC too! Amazing. My friend & I went to MCC one night. She locked her car (before remotes) and left the keys in the lock -of her Mercedes!! When we came back to the car, hours later -yep! still there, in the door! Crazy! I was fresh from Southern CA, & was in SHOCK!! Only in Mesa ;)
.....and Queen Creek.haha -Janae

[Amberly]

Oh you've got angels sister!

[Jordan]

I have those same feelings toward NYC, for perhaps different, but somewhat similar reasons. What a story. Brought goosebumps as I pictured you dashing down the steps to stop suddenly at the sight of "your" cab. Beautiful New Yorker indeed! May we ALL need a little less watching over in the years to come.

[Annalisa]

You have serious luck on your side! I expected as much honesty when I left my wallet or purse at every store in the mall when living in Provo, but NYC, wow. And to have her pay the cab to return it. And what a sweet boy. I would see the keys and think I better leave them so when they remember they will be where they can find them. But to put such effort into you recovering your keys is so sweet. I got a flat on the freeway a few years ago, dressed in white, late for work, and having never changed a flat tire. A guy pulled up behind me and offered to change my tire, got himself all dirty, and then wouldn't even let me pay him. Sometimes the thoughtfulness of others is amazing.

[Sheri]

I did the same thing! Luckily my neighbor brought the keys back to me. It is so nice to hear that there are kids demonstrating acts of honesty and integrity.

[Anna]

Great luck. Blessing luck. Can you say those two words together? I once opened a letter I received in the mail to find my drivers license enclosed with a nice note from a lady in Scottsdale who said she found it one morning out on the street on her walk. What? I didn't even know I had lost it. And I hadn't even been in Scottsdale for months...wierd. But blessing luck for me.

[Shanon]

Holy cow Amy! That is funny and scary! Good thing there are honest people still around. I would have taken the truck for a little ride or parked it down the street!

[Price Cream Parlor]

WOW! Seriously! That is fantastic that this little guy found you and gave the keys back! What a lovely story of you in NYC.

[Mandi]

We all have those moments, but some aren't as lucky as you. You deserve it! I lost my keys the other day, but they were only in my pantry. Yeah, I like having a pantry big enough that my keys can get lost =)

[Jill]

Phew, that story could have ended so badly! I'm so glad Jim chased down the kid and gave him some money, he definitely deserves to be rewarded. (I bet you won't ever do that again!)

[Barb]

You are not alone on the mail key thing. I've seen keys hanging from community mailboxes many times. My kids have done it more than once. Not that I'm comparing you with my kids.

Your New York story is one that restores faith in human beings. What a good stranger. I have depended on the kindness of strangers in random ways myself.

[Shawna B.]

Oh, what great stories! Thank you for sharing. If you don't mind, I'm going to pass them along to my friends around here - they are just TOO good! Thank goodness for tender mercies and the kindness of strangers.

[crystalyn]

so it's NOT so weird that i would leave my keys (car, apartment, work, etc) in the DOOR as i slumbered only to figure out where they were after looking for about 20 minutes in sheer panic because i was late to work.

i love your taxi story. that is really something. a tender mercy indeed.

sounds like we're made from the same stuff...my keys in the door overnight happened before kids (and marriage for that matter). you can only imagine what goes on around here now.