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When I get home from school, the first thing I have to do is
check with Mom, to see if I have to go to the store. If I don't... .... .there is big trouble, my whole family might be mad
at me about something missing from dinner. Something important like Snows clam chowder, or Chef Boy-R-Dee's macaroni.. .In
other words, dinner.
We lived about six blocks away from a little Safeway store,
and it was little then, not the Safeway that we are used to now. The clerks knew my name and always smiled at me when I saw
them, the butcher would give me a slice of Salami, and I could always get help if! couldn't find something on my shopping
list.
The trip to the store was much less painful now that I had my
bike, sure did beat walking, as long as I could carry the groceries in one arm, and steer with the other., Still, I had to
push the bike up a short hill after leaving the store. It was at the top of that small hill, as I was crossing the street......
that I noticed something small and shiny near the curb.
So I steered my bike closer hoping that it was money. It was!
A shiny dime, I was delighted! As I reached down to pick it up my greedy eyes searched the area, and there was a nickel! I
put the groceries down and lay the bike on the sidewalk, then I scanned the street to see if anyone else could see this treasure
I found. The street is empty.. . . . . ..1 quickly scooped up the dime, then the nickel, a few pennies. They were lined up
like little stepping stones in an almost straight line, and then at the far end of this treasure line. .. . .. . .. .. ..A
quarter!!
Now a quarter was worth ( at that time ), what a dollar is worth
now. This was more than my allowance!
Someone must have lost their change walking home from the store
I thought as my eyes searched all the possible places for more coins. And then I saw it,.. . ... . . . .A WALLET! I quickly
picked it up and noticed some bills inside as I tucked it in the grocery bag. Again I looked up and down the street,. .. .no
one! So it must be fair to keep it.
Finders-keepers. The bike seemed hard to pedal, the grocery
bag was getting pretty heavy now, my thoughts were only on that wallet. How much was in it? I stopped the bike to rest and
took the wallet out of the bag.
The first bill was a dollar, next to it a five! And the last
one,.. . .. . TEN!! .. . . .But then, also in there was identification, a name, an address, not far from here. I should return
it, my inner voice said. Someone lost it and might need it very much. My Mom and Dad would be very proud of me, they would
tell the story of my honesty to all the family and all the neighbors. But I was tempted, the groceries were heavy, and ( I
reasoned,) I could return it later, after I got home and showed it to Mom.
Sadly, that was not a good plan. It gave me too much time to
think about the things I could buy with all that money.. . . . . . . And when I got home I was silent. That was step one.
Then I reasoned, if that person was careless enough to lose their wallet, then they didn't deserve it, that was step two.
Step three was to destroy the identification card and hide the wallet in a safe place ( not my room ), so I hid the wallet
in the inside pocket of Joe's coat. No one bothered Joe as he stood in our basement waiting for next Halloween. By now of
course, all thoughts of returning the money had left my mind, and all that I had to be careful of, was not spending the money
in a way to create suspicion. That was easy, a trip to the store now meant a candy bar for me, or some little trinket at the
five-and-dime. Also, now I can afford some model airplane kits that I couldn't get before. Oh the luxury of it all. The guilt
that was lurking in the back of my mind was swept aside by all the wonderful things that I could buy. But I thought of that
person missing the money, waiting for an honest person to knock on the door and return the wallet with all the money. Waiting
for the knock. . . .. . ... that would never come.
Next Saturday afternoon I was in downtown Oakland waiting for a bus. There
was a cold wind blowing at the comer bus stop, and I would duck inside the drugstore to get out of the wind and look at all
the goodies.
I thought about getting a candy bar, but now I was rich, so I bought one
and went outside to eat it, now I was cold again and I went back in and I saw this large bag of cashews, now I loved cashews
and this should last me a long time. Of course I couldn't share them because they cost so much, and I would have to explain
where I got the money. Those were the best. cashews I've ever tasted, and I couldn't stop eating them. I had some on the bus,
and I had some more while reading in my room. Of course my appetite was down, but I did manage to finish my dinner. That night
our family was going to see a movie, so I had some more cashews before we left. The movie theater had what they called a "
double feature," that means that you can see two movies for the price of one. So in the intermission my Dad went to the snack
bar and brought back some coke, popcorn, and candy. Who could ask for anything more! But before we left the theater, my stomach
was feeling very upset. Mom said it must have been the coke, Dad said maybe the popcorn, I couldn't say, but I knew it was
the cashews along with everything else. When we got home I was really sick, and ran into the bathroom to throw up, I never
felt so bad in my life! All through the night I had to rush to the bathroom and throw up, finally exhausted, I fell into a
restless sleep.
The next morning I was fine...... .until I saw the bag of cashews (almost
empty,)and it made me feel sick just to see them. I thought I never wanted to see a cashew again! There can be too much of
a good thing. And if I had returned the wallet, I would not have bought the large bag and got sick.
I stupidly shared the story of the wallet with my cousins and my sister,
and one of them told on me, I don't know which one. But my Dad sat me down and demanded to hear the whole story. When I was
finished, he told me to pay back the money to the owner. But the address and name was gone now, so then he asked to see the
things I bought with the money. So I got the airplane models that I had built, and a few other things, and put them on the
table in front of him. Then we had a quite talk on the subject of right and wrong, things I already knew, but had put aside
when the temptation was great. My Dad did not spank me, he didn't have to, I knew what was right and somehow thought I could
bend the rules.
I looked at my models on the table for the last time. Dad said it wouldn't
be fair if I kept them since they were bought with money that wasn't mine, and I needed to learn that lesson. I think Dad
took them to work with him to give to another friend that had a young son. I never saw them again.
So finding the wallet was not such a great thing, the cashews that made
me sick and the models that I couldn't keep. I think the only good to come out of it is that I get to tell you about it, and
if you have a situation that is similar, you may learn something from my story. Sometimes it's hard to do the right thing,
all I know is that when I think of that wallet, I wish I had been strong enough to return it....
As I hope some one would do for me..
"Boy
Adventures" by Ron Francis ............ (c) .. 2009
 
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