Roger Keller - Returning My Wallet

Have you ever reached into your pocket and realized that you were missing your wallet?  If you have, then you know the sinking feeling that I’m about to describe that can only happen when something as important as a wallet is lost. 

I recently walked into a large bookstore on a pleasant Sunday afternoon with the intention of browsing my favorite sections to kill some free time.  I first picked through some selections in the fiction section, then searched the shelves of the biography section.  Seeing a book I liked, I pulled out my wallet to determine how much money I had and decided that I was a little bit short on cash for the amount the bookstore wanted for this particular book.  Just as I was putting the book back on the shelf, an employee of the store stopped to talk to me and I cordially struck up a brief conversation with the man. 

I returned home after ending the conversation and was stepping out of my parked car when I realized I didn’t have my wallet in my pocket.  I quickly searched the car seat, desperately hoping that it might have simply slid out of my pocket.  I ravaged underneath the drivers seat, my chest tightening in fear.  I searched and searched and searched but came up with nothing.  Feeling hopeless, I finally walked into the house to announce the news to my wife when the phone rang.  It was the employee of the bookstore that I had met that afternoon...the same one I had spoken to during my brief conversation.  Apparently I had set my wallet on the bookshelf and had left it there due to the distraction of the conversation.  Thankfully, the employee saw it after I left and had taken it upon himself to find one of my business cards within the wallet and call the number listed.  I quickly drove back to the bookstore, thanked the employee, and returned home a satisfied man.

I would like to send a huge “thank you” to that incredible employee, Roger Keller.  You saved my afternoon and turned a possible disaster into a meaningful encounter.