Lost and Found: Michael’s iPod

Michael: I hope your find your IPod. I’m a guy who finds a lot of stuff. In recent years I’ve found a wallet (totally reunited with the owner), a packet of documents for a co-op closing and at least four cellphones. I’ve also found two valid credit cards, one of which I was able to return to the owner because she lived in the neighborhood and had a listed phone; the other I tried calling the issuing bank to explain the situation. Good luck explaining that one to a bank after you’ve navigated to the “push one for this, push two for that!”

One of the cellphones was easy to return. The woman was walking down the street and I happened to be in the area where she had lost/dropped it. Another phone belonged to a guy who was working as a cleaner at a Montague Street real estate office. I called the most recently dialed number on the phone, reached his boss, and that phone was also successfully reunited.

The other two phones were returned to Verizon and TMobile respectively because that’s who issued the phones.

Increasingly cellphones and other portable electronic devices have become electronic notebads containing all kinds of crucial details. You lose ’em, you’re screwed. But they’re valuable pieces of electronic equipment and even though you might be out a hundred bucks or so there’s the time, effort and energy of getting the downloaded information, music and video back on your device.

I’ve taken the time to use a label maker to put my home phone number on the BACK of my cellphone with a note that says “If Found, Please Call 718 XXX-XXX.”

I’m convinced that 99.9 percent of people are honest and want to do the right thing. Lose an Ipod or a computer or a cellphone or any valuable piece of electronics with no way to reach the owner and there’s nothing an honest person can do to return it.

Leaving your name and number on there at least gives you a shot at someone attempting to do the right thing.

And when someone does find something of yours and they call up, don’t say “oh, can you come and drop it off.” That’s precisely what happened when I found someone’s closing documents. My wife and I were heading to Fuji San (now Magita) for dinner and I’m thinking “er, I’ve found YOUR documents and you want ME to deliver them?” Instead I told the party to meet me at Fuji San or figure out some other time to meet to hand them over!

I think it’s a simple, commonsense problem. Michael good luck. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled and I hope this has a happy ending!

TK— Nah… they didn’t. Sounds corny but I genuinely enjoy helping others out. Somehow I like to think I’m building up cosmic karma so that when I lose my iPod…

Oh wait. I don’t have an iPod. But you get the idea.

wow, it takes cojones to ask someone to deliver items they lost.

Someone left their glasses at my place when looking at a piece of furniture I was selling (they didn’t buy). I called 3 times trying to arrange a return, but they’ve been unable to schedule (I’ve offered to be home or meet them somewhere of mutual convenience). It’s been 3 weeks, I’ve not heard from them in 2. I guess they’ve written them off.