By Lee Scott
This is the time of year when we start to give thanks. We sit down for our Thanksgiving turkey and give thanks for family, friends, and good food. But today, I want to throw out a special, “Thank you!” to a couple I never met over 40 years ago. It was the mid-1970s and I was managing a small costume jewelry store in the middle of a mall. I was working during the day and taking classes in the evening. This was a great job for me because I could drop my son off at school in the morning and pick him up in the afternoon. I would work all day on Saturday, and he and my husband would spend the day together. Those were the days when every penny counted, and this job fit into our life.
On the day after Christmas I went to the bank first to pick up our night deposit slip. I knew it was a good drop because it had been Christmas Eve and all the last-minute shoppers were out, and many picked up jewelry for their female relatives. We also had items for men like tie pins, cuff links and keychains. When I went up to the head teller she said, “There was no night drop bag for you.”
“What? Of course, there had to be.”
There always was a night deposit drop and I was the one who had put the money bag in the night deposit drawer.
I went to the kiosk and looked at the carbon copy of the deposit slip with my initials. It was my responsibility. Then I scoured every cabinet and then did the same to my car.
Nothing! What happened to the money?
It had been Christmas Eve and we had been very busy. There were three other employees working with me, but I had been in a hurry to close and get home to a 6-year-old waiting to head to Nana and Grandpa’s house. Where was that bag?
I was going to call the owners and tell them what happened. We did not have the extra money to replace the funds but could borrow from our folks. As I sat there, I heard a knock and it was one of the security guards.
“Did you drop something on Saturday?,” he asked.
I burst into tears. “YES!”
A couple had seen me drop the bag and had turned it into security. I never knew who they were, but I always think of them during this busy holiday season. So, please slow down and remember to give thanks to those who might have done something special for you.
Happy Thanksgiving and THANK YOU, whoever you were!
