Finders (Not) Keepers

I seem to have bad luck with electronics when traveling. These two stories top them all. They also illustrate stories of remarkable honesty.

August 2006:

During a trip to Colorado, I accidentally left my new Canon DSLR on a rock near a dam we stopped to see. Even worse, the card inside held over two weeks worth of irreplaceable family vacation photos.

I felt physically sick when we reached our trailhead in the heart of the San Juan Mountains and realized it had been left behind.

When we returned to the dam after a 60-mile round-trip drive down dusty, bumpy roads, the rock was there, the camera was gone.

My heart sank.

Instead of a fun birthday hike for my hubby, we spent the day frantically looking for my camera at every campground throughout the area. Perhaps someone had turned it in. Or maybe someone had spotted it and figured, “My lucky day!”

We returned to "the rock" several hours later. To my disbelief, there was a note in a plastic baggie.

Could it be? Were there still honest people in this world? I frantically opened the baggie and ripped out the note.

It said, “Found camera. Call to give description and retrieve.”

Hallelujah! My faith in mankind had been restored.

Fast forward to July 2011:

When we arrived in Las Vegas, it was too early to check into our room. The bellboy offered to store our luggage until our room was ready.

I decided to keep my MacBook with me, “just in case.” My laptop and camera are my lifelines to family, friends and work. Knowing my luck with electronics, I didn't want to take any chances.

Having my hands full, I asked my 9-year-old, Addison, to carry the MacBook for me.

We decided to hang out at Starbucks until we got the call for the room. After about an hour of relaxing with drinks, we gathered our things to leave.

The MacBook was missing.

“I just set it over here on this table, mom,” Addison said.

I searched above, below … every which way to find that slim laptop which happened to be full of very useful and important photos and information.

My heart skipped a few beats. Did someone TAKE it from right in front of us?

Maybe what’s taken to Vegas stays in Vegas, too!

I raced to the baristas to see if they knew anything about it. The young girl looked me over with caution and asked its color.

“Purple with white skulls and cross bones,” I said. (My husband’s gift to me.)

“Yes,” she said. “Someone picked it up off the table and thought it had been left here. It's being held in security.”

Hallelujah, again.

The moral of the stories:

There are still honest people in this world. Good DOES shine through.

My electronics were saved once again!