I would say that tonight, my faith in the good of people was restored – but really, I hadn’t lost that faith. Instead, my faith in good people was re-enforced.
About a month ago, I was at Bar Bar in City Market with a group of folks from work for a going away party. A group of us were dancing in the back room, and it was getting hot so I wanted to take off my jacket. I put it on top of a pile of jackets right next to our pile of purses.
About 20 minutes later, I looked at the pile of jackets – but only saw bare floor. The pile was gone. My jacket was gone with it.
I tried not to get upset. It was my fault for putting my jacket in a pile on the floor. I thought the other jackets belonged to my friends – but I was wrong. I tried to brush it off, but It was my favorite leather jacket, a birthday gift from my parents. It was the kind of jacket you wear too much but you can’t help yourself.
I wanted to believe the owners of the other jackets in the pile had simply picked mine up by mistake. But part of me said that was stupid. Someone surely stole it.
Suddenly, everyone in the bar appeared to be wearing my jacket. It’s not that different from every other black leather jacket. But it was mine, and everyone was a suspect. I checked with employees, but no one knew where my jacket could be.
Tonight, Lee and I were in City Market with some friends, walking past Bar Bar. On a whim, I decided to pop in and ask about my jacket. The bartender looked skeptical, but agreed to go into the back and check. A few moments later, she appeared – my black leather jacket in hand.
Someone had turned it in. I knew it was mine. The brand was right, the size was right, and most convincing of all – there were candy wrappers in the pocket.
A big thank you is due to the people who accidentally took my jacket, then returned it. A big thank you to the bar for not throwing it out. A big thank you to good people everywhere.