The Wallet Of Destiny

Full Disclosure: I previously told this story when it happened three years ago, but (a) I figure the statute of storytelling limitations has passed, and (b) this was before I began publishing a weekly newsletter, which is viewed by as many as 12 people a week and therefore... this is a new audience to re-tell the tale.

It was April of 2021, and we were very much still in the full throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Back then, we practiced social distancing, wore face masks wherever we went, and sometimes were forced to wash our hands after sneezing into them.

I had the day off of work and decided to take a long drive in the car, looking for a spot to have a relaxing walk in nature. This was one of two pandemic-approved activities at the time (the other being binge-watching something known as "Tiger King"). I drove for about 40 minutes and found a nice path to hike through.

On the way back, I decided to stop at an OnRoute (a highway-adjacent gas stop and food court plaza, for those who don't live in Ontario) which my brother was managing at the time. Donning my face mask, I entered the OnRoute and texted him to see whether he was available. He was tied up, so I grabbed some lunch.

It was around that time that I got a call from my wife with good news: I was finally eligible to receive the first COVID vaccine! At this point in time, it was only being distributed selectively, and because of my age (122) and location, I was able to book an appointment! Trying to book an appointment to get your needle became the third pandemic-approved activity around this time.

I ran to my car so that I could navigate the vaccination website in peace, and somewhere along the way, I must have dropped my wallet. Of course, I didn't notice this until I had booked my vaccine appointment, finished my lunch, and driven about 30 minutes from the rest stop.

Panic soon set in after I searched every crevice of my car, and the wallet was nowhere to be found. My wallet at the time was a chunky, George Costanza-style deal, the type that was bursting at the seams with expired coupons, business cards and probably a few pieces of loose change peeking out at every nook and cranny.

If I lost this gargantuan wallet, I would have to cancel all of my credit cards. Plus, I'd have to replace my debit card, driver's license, health card, Dominion Cookie Club Card (?1984) and several other invaluable documents!

Giving up was not an option, and so I decided to retrace my steps. The last time I had used Walletzilla was at the OnRoute, because not only did I pay for my lunch with it, but I also looked at my health card when signing up for the vaccine appointment.

I raced back there (good luck finding the proper exit while driving the opposite direction, by the way!) and while doing so, called my brother to see whether he could ask his staff whether a wallet had been turned in. He did so, but nothing turned up. I arrived shortly thereafter, donned that &)@*%@ng face mask again, and scoured the grounds for the bulkiest wallet this side of Saskatchewan. No luck.

I started to return to the second-most recent place I'd been (just in case), when I received a phone call from my mother-in-law.

"Did you lose something?" she asked.

How could she have known? Were the tabloids talking about this already?

It turns out some Good Samaritan found my overstuffed wallet in the OnRoute parking lot. Not only did they not remove any of the money or credit cards, but they checked the ID and immediately drove the 45 minutes to my house to drop it off! Seriously, they would have had to make a direct trip to get it there that quickly.

Upon receiving the item, my mother-in-law asked to take down the Good Samaritan's phone number so that I could thank them (thank them? I would have rewarded them with cash and also given them my next Dominion Cookie Club selection!), but the gentleman said no.

He didn't want to give his name. Apparently, he wasn't in the wallet-returning game for the glory, but just wanted to perform an act of kindness. It really does reinforce your faith in humanity when someone does something that nice, just in the name of being a decent human being.

I put the word out on social media but was never able to find the individual who delivered the wallet to my house. I truly hope I can pay it forward one day.

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