What is wrong with you, Dr. Fry? It's terrible thread Thursday, and you're the king of companion threads. How do you run a LOST thread and not a FOUND thread? Slacker. One time, when I was leaving the parking lot after a Braves exhbition game, I found a jacket in the middle of the driveway. I saw it fall off the trunk of the car pulling out in front of us. I quickly snatched it up, and told the driver of our car to go. While trying to catch up with him, I looked inside the jacket for some kind of ID. I found a Rolex watch. I was eventually able to track down the owner, and in addition to thanking me profusely, he sent me several Braves' game tickets that year. Focus: Have you ever found anything exciting or valuable? Did you keep it, or return it to its owner?
I had to change the thread title, because it did not fit with the current theme. But I like the topic, so let's run with it. In tribute to Rush-O-Matic's idea of companion threads, though, I have titled the thread after a show hosted by Wesley Eure. Wesley was better known as "Will" of "Marshall, Will, and Holly" who spent most of their onscreen lives in the Land of the...Lost.
I've never found items with actual value but I have found money a few times. 1) About 8 years old, I found $10 on a cable car in San Francisco. 2) Found a $20 in the parking lot of a movie theater 3) Found a $100 bill under my seat at a KC Chiefs game The best story about finding money is one where I missed it. My brother and I were playing baseball in a field with my dad. We used some trash in the field as bases. About an hour after we started playing, my dad picks up "second base" and realizes it is a $5 bill that was very worn and faded. we had played that long without realizing it was money.
People do dumb shit when exhausted. Even though you're not supposed to part with any of your gear, a lot of hikers/climbers stash snowshoes, backpacks, etc. when they don't think they'll need them anymore, rather than carry extra weight. It's a common sight on a Colorado 14er to see a mass of backpacks at 13,500 feet. What people don't realize is that when there's not an established trail, crossing the exact same terrain again isn't likely. Add in high wind, accidentally dropped gear and general idiocy, and there are expensive items strewn all across the backcountry. Last year, I found: -Ice ax -Two cameras (one broken) -Full backpack with jacket, GPS, food and tent I always make a good faith effort to return found gear. The Colorado climbing community is surprisingly small and a simple Internet post is usually all it takes. The only thing I've found so far I wasn't able to return was the unbroken camera (score!). (it's getting to be "that season." Lost winter gear often gets buried in snow, which is only just now melting out. I'm sure my May and June climbs will be the equivalent of hiking in a treasure chest.)
I have found money, coats, keys, purses, all kinds of things. The coolest find was a pony. Yes, a real, live, pony. I was in Texas, riding my paint down a country road and enjoying the day. My mount seemed concerned as we passed an abandoned property, she began whinnying and getting agitated. I peered through the tall grass and thought I saw a large dog. The property was not enclosed, so I turned the mare in to check it out. The "dog" began making a bizarre shrieking sound as I approached. I was afraid it may be rabid or something and tried to figure out why it wasn't coming towards us. I finally slid off of my horse and approached tentatively. There was this poor pony, her halter was caught on an old water spigot. She wasn't too keen on my rescuing her, it took some work to get her free. As soon as she got her head back, she bolted. Gone again in the tall grass. I wasn't sure what to do, she was very unkept and there had been no one on that property for at least a year. I decide to head home and ask my mother. I start heading home and here comes that little pony, trotting behind us. After explaining how I found her to my mom, she called the Sheriff's office and they said that if no one claimed her within 90 days of posting a "Found" ad, we could keep her. In the meantime we got that little thing some care, she was quite underweight and had several cuts. No one claimed her and my sister named her Muffin. We kept Muffin til she passed. That damn pony was a great addition to our family, she ruled the roost in the pasture. Sometimes I would have to straighten her out for my sister, I would ride her with my feet dragging the ground. Ah, good times.
I've found lots of neat shit while hiking, skiing, and sailing. The best spot was in the Mystic River where I use to keep my boat. I could snorkel or dive from my boat and find a few pairs of sunglasses, wallets, etc almost every time I went. Best find diving was a spear gun. Thing was wicked... looked like you could take out sharks or play a villain in a 007 movie.
I have a habit of finding jewelry whenever I go skiing. I have a small collection of bracelets, necklaces, etc. that I've found on the lifts or on the edge of the woods.
I found $327 when I was 9 years old while hiking with my dad. We were taking a short hike in the late afternoon while my mom was back at the campsite making dinner with my sister. On the way back to camp, I was busy kicking rocks and checking out bushes for lizards. My dad went ahead and told me to hurry back to camp. So as I'm walking with my head down, I notice a wad of cash right in the middle of one particular bush, held together with a rubber band. HOLY SHIT! I grabbed that money and sprinted back to camp, thinking of all the cool stuff I was gonna buy with my loot. I came screaming towards everyone yelling about the treasure I just found, waving my arms frantically. Then my dad started laughing his ass off. He was crying and could barely breathe. "Give me back my money" That asshat had gone ahead, and stuck his wad of cash in a bush knowing I'd find it and get all excited just to bring my dreams crashing back to reality in one fell swoop. I got him back by burning off his arm hair with the lantern later that night, revenge never tasted sweeter.
Exciting or of Value? no. I found someone's dog when I was a kid. They had signs up and the mutt was in my backyard digging through my trash. I called the owners and they came by and picked up the dog. They left my mom $20 and said another gift would arrive for me. I got a He-Man action figure in the mail sometime later. Another time I found someone's wallet and turned it into the police department. It had no money or ID inside the thing, but it did have quite a few credit cards and some photos. I hope they got it back.
Back in February I went out to Fort Sam Houston and stayed in a hotel on post. I was stuck all the way at the far end of the hall, surrounded by families with small children in every room and was kinda pissed about it. I cheered right up though when I opened the closet door to find a brand new 32gb Ipod touch sitting on the shelf. The previous owner hadn't locked it out with a passcode, and there was no info stored on it that might help me track down who it actually belonged to. I've been using a 30gb Zune that I bought in 2006, so getting something like a Ipod touch for free is a definite upgrade. I still use my Zune for all my music though, and the Ipod is used to play angry birds while dropping a deuce.
I mostly find change on the ground, usually averaging ~$.15 a week. Like the good little Jew* I am, I pick every single cent. When my fiance started noticing that I am physically unable to pass up a penny without stooping down to pick it up, he started playing games with me. Like one time, he started up the car and then tossed a bunch of change out the window. Cue me frantically unbuckling my seat belt and scurrying over to his side to pick up the $.95 or whatever it amounted to, with him cackling impishly in the car beside me. He also says that on our wedding day he is going to have a little pouch of change with the words "Jew Gold" on the front and drop the contents on the dance floor. He enjoys my OCD tendencies way too much. *only in habits.
Slightly off-topic, but this was my most effective method of office warfare. I discovered that a thoroughly unpleasant office drone couldn't walk past a staple on the floor without picking it up. The stationary cupboard had limitless staples, and I had limitless time. Normally I contented myself with spreading about 10 over the course of the day, but one day after we'd had a very liquid lunch, I took it too far and coated the entire hallway leading up to her office in them. The next staff meeting we had was devoted to the 'mean, thoughtless actions of a few miscreants' who 'didn't have the best interests of our happy work family at heart'. In fairness, that was 100% accurate. Once upon a time I lost my wallet chock full of illegal party favours. Some kind soul handed it in to the police station. I agonized for a while over whether to get it or not, but figured it would look more suspicious if I didn't claim it. Much to my relief, the extras were missing, and nothing was ever said. Oh, and I once found my parent's dog that had escaped from my brother's house (brother was dogsitting while my folks were overseas). I found him waiting in my parent's driveway, having walked a distance of 5.1km and crossed a highway and 3 main roads. Not bad for a chihuahua / jack russel mix who barely reached my ankle.
I found a nice 100GB (or more, I forget) iPod classic in the parking lot of a local store last Halloween. I spent several months making calls (when I had time) to the store and searching on Facebook, but to no avail. I eventually ended up selling it and using the money to pay some medical bills I had.