An Unexpected Return

by Jason Knight
Florida, USA

It was a rainy Wednesday evening not much different from any other. After leaving work, I stopped at the supermarket to pick up the developed pictures I had taken on a cruise a few days ago, then went home.

I picked up the mail and headed for my apartment. Before I opened the door, I noticed something had been pushed underneath it. I guessed that it was probably a note from the leasing office, or a “Sorry we missed you” delivery notice from United Parcel Service.

I opened the door, then stood there in shock for a few seconds. It was my driver’s license. I hadn’t even realized it was missing. There was no note with it, no clue about who had returned it.

After setting down the pictures, mail, and other things I was carrying, I checked my wallet. All of my credit cards, bank cards, and other items were still there. I checked the names and signatures on the cards to make extra sure. They were mine. My driver’s license had been the only thing missing.

I know I had had the license when I walked off the cruise ship that past Monday, two days previously. I was carrying it in my back pocket but outside the wallet, as I have done on occasion, so I could access it more easily if someone needed to see it quickly.

It could have been lost while I was handling my wallet in any number of places after that — around the apartment complex, at a restaurant, even at the pier when I left the boat. The most likely place is the supermarket where I dropped off the pictures on Monday. Of course, I immediately decided to discontinue the practice of carrying important ID cards that way.

I hate to think about what could have happened had it never been returned. Not only would it have been a major hassle to get it replaced, but I doubt I would have discovered the loss until I NEEDED the license, piling one problem on top of another.

There is also the threat of someone using the information on the card to commit identity theft. Though that remains a possibility in this case, I seriously doubt its likelihood, because it makes no sense that such a criminal would go out of his or her way after the crime to return evidence to the victim.

You may find it amazing that this happened to occur on September 11, 2002. For many people, September 11 is the day when they lost their faith in humanity. For me, it’s when mine was restored.

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