Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Trip to Indianapolis – March 16th we were awfully late. Left my pocketbook with $25.00 on the window. Didn’t miss it until I started to get my breakfast. I had 75¢ in silver. Wired to Chicago for money.” He lost the equivalent of $505.00 today, no small amount, then or now.
Many of us have lost money over the years, leaving a purse or wallet in the store, library or classroom. I have many stories of my purses being returned, or going back to find them on a park bench, untouched. The most memorable, however, happened on our honeymoon in 1993.
Andrew and I spent two weeks in the Canadian Rockies, with our first three nights at the Green Gables Inn in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. On the first morning after our arrival, we went for a walk downtown; a nice little stroll along the river. There was a lovely dirt path with a few benches along our way. For whatever reason, we decided that I would carry all of the money and our credit cards that morning. Needless to say, we have never done that since. At some point the purse disappeared. We strolled along the river, sat on a bench and headed back to the hotel. I may have left my purse by a bench, or the strings were cut by a thief. A few weeks after we returned, however, the purse was returned with my ID and credit cards, just minus the cash.
We were also fortunate that my parents could wire money, but we had saved up for months. It was a devastating at the loss. In the end, we tried to find some humor saying that we were a great Western Union ad – “Please send money soon or we won’t have a honeymoon.”
To be continued…
