Something unexplainable happened...long story.

[MontereyLion]

In early December my son asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told him that I would like a new wallet. Being the considerate son he is he goes out and buys 2 wallets for me to pick from. I picked one and instead of having him take the other back I bought it from him and decided that I would give it to my brother for his Birthday....which is tomorrow. My wife said..you never give a wallet without money in it. Being the cheapskate I am I put 20 bucks in. So you know, the wallet I kept was the less expensive of the two. Now I was concerned that maybe he doesn't need a new wallet. Maybe he likes the one he has. So I put the receipt in the wallet. In case you wanted to return it for something else. Second week of December I wrapped it for his Birthday...tomorrow. Flash forward to yesterday. I called my brother ( who lives about 10 mile from me) to chat. In the conversation he brings up that on Saturday he lost his wallet. Say what? I am thinking to myself...are you kidding me? He explains how he is going to have to go out and get a new driver's license etc. etc. This morning he calls me and tells me that when he went out to get his paper there was a package next to the paper. Inside was everything he had in his wallet except for the money and the wallet. How strange is that? Tomorrow he gets a new wallet and $20 nicely wrapped and ready for him since last month. Today I bought lotto.

 

[CVLion]

Cool, odd story. Did he say how much money had been in the lost wallet? I’m puzzled by the stranger who was “honest enough” to return the contents but felt it OK to keep the money and the wallet itself.

 

[MontereyLion]

Cool, odd story. Did he say how much money had been in the lost wallet? I’m puzzled by the stranger who was “honest enough” to return the contents but felt it OK to keep the money and the wallet itself.

My brother said he had $40 in the wallet. Would have even been stranger if he had $20 in it.

 

[Norm Petersin]

Marte was fundamentally poor, but it seems like Bucs got little in return

 

[psuro]

Marte was fundamentally poor, but it seems like Bucs got little in return

WTF?

2 minutes in the penalty box for cross threading.

 

[Steelpenn]

My parents asked my son what he wanted for Christmas one year, he told them a fat wallet. So they went and bought him a wallet and stuffed it with one hundred one dollar bills. His face was priceless.

 

[WDLion]

WTF?

2 minutes in the penalty box for cross threading.

Good one.

 

[fairgambit]

Cool, odd story. Did he say how much money had been in the lost wallet? I’m puzzled by the stranger who was “honest enough” to return the contents but felt it OK to keep the money and the wallet itself.

Maybe the person that returned it was not the one who kept the wallet and cash? Guy finds a wallet, say at a mall, dumps the personal stuff and keeps wallet & cash. Good samaritan finds contents and returns them to owner. Maybe?

 

[LionDeNittany]

Maybe the person that returned it was not the one who kept the wallet and cash? Guy finds a wallet, say at a mall, dumps the personal stuff and keeps wallet & cash. Good samaritan finds contents and returns them to owner. Maybe?

Most likely.

LdN

 

[CVLion]

Could be, hadn’t considered that. It would make more sense that way.

EDIT: Sorry, missed quoting fairgambit in my response.

 

[LionDeNittany]

In early December my son asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told him that I would like a new wallet. Being the considerate son he is he goes out and buys 2 wallets for me to pick from. I picked one and instead of having him take the other back I bought it from him and decided that I would give it to my brother for his Birthday....which is tomorrow. My wife said..you never give a wallet without money in it. Being the cheapskate I am I put 20 bucks in. So you know, the wallet I kept was the less expensive of the two. Now I was concerned that maybe he doesn't need a new wallet. Maybe he likes the one he was. So I put the receipt in the wallet. In case you wanted to return it for something else. Second week of December I wrapped it for his Birthday...tomorrow. Flash forward to yesterday. I called my brother ( who lives about 10 mile from me) to chat. In the conversation he brings up that on Saturday he lost his wallet. Say what? I am thinking to myself...are you kidding me? He explains how he is going to have to go out and get a new driver's license etc. etc. This morning he calls me and tells me that when he went out to get his paper there was a package next to the paper. Inside was everything he had in his wallet except for the money and the wallet. How strange is that? Tomorrow he gets a new wallet and $20 nicely wrapped and ready for him since last month. Today I bought lotto.

The biggest question in this whole affair is did your brother buy his wallet from @fairgambit Enterprises? Because in that case it is likely his wallet simply disintegrated (by design of course) itself into a neat little package next to the newspaper as he walked in the evening before.

That wallet was likely much more expensive and of considerably lower quality than the one you plan to give him tomorrow. Be prepared for his unhappiness as he feels the quality wallet you give him and compares it to the high priced and low quality wallet he had before.

LdN

 

[fairgambit]

The biggest question in this whole affair is did your brother buy his wallet from @fairgambit Enterprises? Because in that case it is likely his wallet simply disintegrated (by design of course) itself into a neat little package next to the newspaper as he walked in the evening before.

That wallet was likely much more expensive and of considerably lower quality than the one you plan to give him tomorrow. Be prepared for his unhappiness as he feels the quality wallet you give him and compares it to the high priced and low quality wallet he had before.

LdN

Excellent!

 

[LionFan87b]

Many years ago, I had the exact same experience as your brother. Everything returned, except the cash and the wallet itself.

 

[kgilbert78]

Maybe the person that returned it was not the one who kept the wallet and cash? Guy finds a wallet, say at a mall, dumps the personal stuff and keeps wallet & cash. Good samaritan finds contents and returns them to owner. Maybe?

I found a neighbors stuff from his wallet on my front lawn once--he'd left his wallet in his car and it was not locked.... So that's a reasonable explanation.

 

[Cosmos]

Maybe the person that returned it was not the one who kept the wallet and cash? Guy finds a wallet, say at a mall, dumps the personal stuff and keeps wallet & cash. Good samaritan finds contents and returns them to owner. Maybe?

Dust the package for fingerprints. Run it thru the DB. See if he has a rap sheet. That's how you find out.

 

[Air Force 1]

What would have been funny is if he would have put a picture of one of RO's girls in the wallet before mailing it back.

 

[sluggo72]

Many years ago, I had the exact same experience as your brother. Everything returned, except the cash and the wallet itself.

I found a wallet a few years ago around Christmas time. I dont remember a drivers license in it, but the guys name was on other stuff, including a card for his parole officer. There was maybe $80 in it. I found him via facebook, and told him I would return it to him, that we should meet at a gas station (well lite one too, I didnt want him coming to my house with his parole officer etc) Anyway, I get there early and see a car roll up with a bunch of kids, and duck tape for body work etc. I just went handed him the wallet and walked back inside. I didnt want to be mean, but I didnt want any more for Christmas dinner either. He looked inside, and saw all the money was there, and started shouting, 'Thank you , Merry Christmas' . They drove off,and that was that. So it seems in some way I guess I did help him and his family.

 

[anon_1eeb2b426hv3y]

Maybe the person that returned it was not the one who kept the wallet and cash? Guy finds a wallet, say at a mall, dumps the personal stuff and keeps wallet & cash. Good samaritan finds contents and returns them to owner. Maybe?

Except for keeping the wallet. If the person just takes the cash, the wallet keeps all the personal stuff together. And the cash is the only thing that can’t be identified as the owner’s property. Thinking like this hypothetical semi-honest person, take the cash and dump the rest including the wallet.

And if at the mall, the person taking the cash would have to remove all the other contents secretly and keep them all together without the wallet so a Good Sumerian could find and return. So I see why the OP was puzzled.

I've heard stories of pickpockets doing their "work" finding no cash and just giving the wallet back. But those always struck me as odd too (basically betraying their secrecy while turning themselves in).

 

[BobPSU92]