Back in September I had an amazing thing happen...I was on my way to see Jen and James to celebrate James' 30th birthday. I had a very large Bed Bath & Beyond bag filled with stuff - a wrapped gift for James, my work sweater, a doggy coat for Liza that I got at a craft fair, a loaf of Jen's favorite bread, several dozen chocolate chip cookies to give to the firemen by Jen's apartment, and an airline blanket sealed in a plastic bag. And guess what I did?
I lost it. I carried it to/from St. Louis, and then all the way to New York City. BUT, I left it in front of the LaGuardia Airport terminal when I loaded my bags onto the hotel van. I realized it on the way to the hotel, and the van driver drove me back to the airport as soon as we got everyone off at the hotel. We literally got back to the hotel within 10-15 minutes of when I left the bag, but it was gone when I got back. I was so sad.
I showed up at Jen & James' apartment the next morning empty-handed...well, I did stop at McDonald's and bought Egg McMuffins for all! But I was so down that I had lost everything. It was all replaceable - but I couldn't believe I'd been that stupid. I kept beating myself up. That was on Saturday.
On Monday evening when I called Greg to say hello, he told me there was a message on our answering machine. It was a woman calling from Connecticut...she told me that she had picked up my bag at LaGuardia, tried to turn it over to security, but they would not accept it. So she took it home with her. Her goal, she said, was to reunite the bag with its owner. I must have left a paper in the bag with my contact information - thank God that I did!
I called her back the next morning and we had a nice chat. She wanted to drive the bag back down to Manhattan, but I didn't want her to go out of her way. Instead, she offered to mail it to Jen & James' apartment - the place it was intended for. And guess what? She did! I later sent her a card with some cash for reimbursement for postage, and I included a few Colorado goodies. It was amazing to know there are still good people.
So now it's my turn to pay back that kindness. Last night, a girl in her late teens/early 20s got on my flight to San Diego. Her eyes were puffy and red, and tears were still streaming down her face. Unfortunately, I was tied up with another passenger who had left her cell phone in the waiting area...but during the flight, I learned that the girl was distraught because she lost a small plastic box. In it was MAC makeup and a necklace made of shells.
The makeup was no big deal to her - but the necklace was very special. Her Dad had passed away only days before, and the necklace was one that her mother had made for her father, and he wore it all through college. Her Mom had just given her the necklace as a remembrance of her Dad.
For some reason, this girl tugged at my heartstrings. I think it was because the loss of her Dad was so fresh, and I still miss my Dad so much. I told her that I would do whatever I could to try and find that box for her.
So this morning, when I had a short layover in Denver, I found one of the gate agents that had worked my flight to San Diego. I told her the story, and she did a little research for me before I left on today's flight to Las Vegas. She found someone who found a small plastic box in the gate area, and that this person turned it over to the Frontier Lost & Found this morning. She included the phone number for that office!
So when I arrived in Vegas, I called the number. But unfortunately, when you call, you're told to send an email or leave a voice message. So I did both - it was after 4pm in Denver when I did, but I'm hoping that tomorrow morning they read/listen to my messages and call my cell phone to tell me that they have the box. Then I'll run home, box it up, and send it to the girl. And, of course, I'll call her to tell her it's on the way.
Please keep your fingers crossed - I'm hoping that it'll all work out. I know how much the momentos I have of my Dad mean to me - I'm hoping to give that shell necklace back to her Daddy's little girl.
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