I did something dumb (well, dumber than normal) yesterday: I left my wallet on the Amtrak.
I have never, ever left my wallet anywhere before. But through some seat switching and the fact that I was SO GLAD to finally get off the Amtrak, I didn't even think about where I'd put it, I just LEFT. The last few Amtrak trips I've taken have been kind of a bummer, due to weather/cold rails/inadequate engines--from Chicago to Rochester, we were 2 1/2 hours late, from Buffalo to Albany we were 4 hours late (have you ever sat on the tracks for 2 hours outside Schenectady with a broken engine and thermostat? Don't, is my advice), and yesterday, from Albany to Buffalo, we were 2 hours late. But my Amtrak love was in some sense restored when I got a call this morning from Dave, from the Buffalo Exchange Station.
I had not yet noticed my wallet was missing, because when I got home last night I went to bed without looking in my bag, but Dave called and told me they had it in Buffalo. It was turned in to the conductor. All my cards were still there, but all my cash and change had been taken. It could have been much worse, but for a slightly financially delinquent grad student, the loss of $26 is not great. Mostly, I just felt like a moron.
Happily my wallet was in Buffalo, but I live 1 1/2 hours away, so another problem presented itself. Dave, who by this point in our conversation was calling me "hon" (a moniker which I'm not normally that fond of, but when you lose your wallet, it's nice), said that he didn't want me to have to make the trip up unless I had to. He said that he would call the bus company that makes the run between Buffalo and Jamestown, to see if the driver would be willing to pick up the wallet for me on his way to Jamestown, and then I wouldn't have to go. This was a great idea! Dave is awesome.
He called me back and said that the bus company wasn't answering their phone. (Hon, I think these guys decided to take the holiday early.) He went outside to see if they would stop (they only stop at the train station if someone asks them to, before going on the bus station), but they didn't stop, so he wasn't sure what we could do. My dad came up with plan B--go to the bus station in Jamestown, make sad faces at the bus driver, and try to get him to get my wallet so I wouldn't have to spend 5 hours in transit + bus fare. So that is precisely what I did. Except I didn't have to make sad faces, because the bus driver immediately agreed to "transport" my wallet for me, and even offered to drop it off to me at home. (I said I would just meet him when he got back.) Then I called Dave for the 76th time today, and he was delighted, and put my wallet in an envelope, and gave it to Dan, the bus driver, and now I have it.
I will write letters to Amtrak and Coach USA to say thanks (and to promote these two, who were both so sweet), and I gave Dan some mixed nuts, courtesy of my grandmother, who always has some at hand for last minute presents. I don't know if thank you notes are adequate, but it's the best way I know to, well, gives thanks.
All of this self-inflicted goofiness is actually a pretty apt closer for 2010, and a good opener for 2011. It's a reminder. To remember than people are generally kind and I should trust that they will be, but that sometimes that kindness will be tinged with something else (like, turning in a wallet, but taking all the money first). To remember to keep a closer eye on things, to appreciate what I have, to never take myself or my family or my friends for granted, ever. To deal with travel delays with patience and understanding. To someday have pride in my job, to be willing to help people, even with minor issues. To listen to peoples stories more. To be kind. To trust my instincts. To trust others.
Be safe tonight, everyone, and I wish you all good things for the new year! And to close, here's something from ol' F Scott himself.
"It eluded us then, but that's no matter---tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther... And one fine morning---So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." --The Great Gatsby, final sentence
--I remember reading this passage for the first time in my 10th grade English class, and for some reason I loved it then, and I love it now.
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