Despite the bad things you may read about some people in the pages of the Southern Standard, the fact remains there are still more good people than bad people in the world. Just ask our former reporter Charlie Johnson, who thought he had been pickpocketed at a recent Nashville Predators game we attended.
It all began when Charlie went to stretch his legs during the first intermission of the hockey game. I remained in the seats to play Trivia Crack, as is my custom, and a minute later, he comes back looking all confused (more confused than he usually looks, for those who know Charlie).
“I think I’ve been pickpocketed,” he revealed as he felt where his wallet used to be in his back pocket.
He explains he had just stepped into the very crowded hallway outside our section (it was a sellout since it was a Saturday afternoon game) and that he was immediately bumped into by two people. He said they hit him from behind almost hard enough to knock him over. He noted the collisions were hard enough it made him think to check his wallet since pickpockets often run into their marks as they take their wallets.
Sure enough, when he checked, his wallet was missing. However, the people had long since disappeared into the crowd.
I tried to encourage him since I hadn’t heard of any pickpockets working a ticketed event like the Predators. Most pickpockets, I thought, work free public events since I’d assumed pickpockets wouldn’t want to pay to get in a place to practice their trade. They could, of course, have pickpocketed tickets to the game.
However, when we got back to the car, Charlie’s wallet was nowhere to be found. What followed, on our drive back home, was a very depressed Charlie calling his credit card company to cancel his card. There’s a lot that goes into replacing your personal stuff we don’t think about until it’s gone.
For instance, insurance cards have to be replaced. You have to go in and pay for a new driver license, and you also have to redo any direct draw payments from your checking account as your new charge card will have a new number. It’s a real hassle, not to mention he had $60 cash in there.
Well, guess what came in Charlie’s mail this week. Yep, it was his wallet, complete with the $60 and all his stuff in it. The guy, last name of Stinson, had found it in the parking lot where Charlie had dropped it.
Charlie had paid for parking in the lot behind Union Station that day and must not have gotten his wallet back in his pocket good. The guy didn’t include a return address but apologized in a short note for it taking so long for him to get in the mail. The guy also sprang for the postage, wanting nothing in return.
There’s your good news for today. No matter what you think, people are generally good and honest. Don’t let the bad apples ruin your day.
Standard reporter Duane Sherrill can be reached at 473-2191.