Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Lost and Found

Over a week ago I lost my bag.

It was Sunday and I was going to the gym. My bike is not in the city so I used a spare that didn't have any baskets in the back like my trusty cheap old girly red bike does.

So I took a bungy cord and wrapped it around my gym bag and onto the bike rat trap. I optimistically left the building and about three minutes and ten blocks away from my house, I realized my bag had fallen off my bike.

My heart stopped as I frantically rode back home retracing my steps. It's a miracle I didn't get killed riding into oncoming traffic as I barely took my eyes off the ground. Alas, the bungy cord was in front of my building which meant that the bag fell off the minute I left.

Brian and Ben were playing catch in Tompkins Square Park. They keyed me into the apartment and the canceling of debit and credit cards began. I was more terrified at the prospect that I also lost my keys together with all my ID - extending a generous invitation to be robbed at a later date.

I didn't care as much about the IPOD, the cell phone, the two monthly metrocards, and the cash.

I just wanted my keys, my ID and my loyal and good hearted red wallet. It was a purchase I made at a street fair at Astor Place.....after I got robbed in the Columbia University area after my second day at work three years ago.....also in October.

It's funny what really matters to you.

Well, I sat on my bed, drenched in sweat and despair and burst into tears....and I do mean burst. I cried like a school girl. Ben looked frightened at first, then came over and wrapped his arms around me. In his nine years, he'd never seen me fall apart before. I apologized for freaking him out and explained why I was freaking out.

"Mom. It might be a good idea not to put everything important into your wallet."

Sage advice.

I gained my composure ,went outside and started checking all the garbage cans in Tompkins Square Park, figuring that anyone who took my bag wouldn't be too keen on marching around town with "Barnard - Women in Leadership Conference" emblazoned on their knapsack.

One hour later someone rang our bell and announced "I've got an ID for you". Some guy from the park staff across the street handed my husband my ID and basically took off, insisting that they didn't find anything else. Thirty minutes later, he rang the doorbell again. This time I went down to speak with him. He said they did have my bag and that he'd take me to pick it up at the office in the park.

So I got my bag back and trust me folks, in New York that is nothing short of a miracle.
Apparently it was left hooked to a fence sans IPOD, phone, cash...etc.

I was just glad to be reunited with the stuff I cared about most.

Let's face it. That cell phone was a dead end relationship from the start.

7 comments:

Michael said...

Glad everything turned out well. It's a terrifying feeling when you feel your identity is up for grabs.

(By the way, you have to call me "Mr." from now on. I recently had my portfolio accepted at the Soho Photo Gallery in TriBeCa. God help me the day I start taking myself too seriously.)

Julie Turley, Kingsborough Librarian said...

that is such a devastating feeling. but I'm glad you got what you wanted back. my wallet was stolen at the union square green market once, and i totally fell apart in front of my kids. i never got that one back, but i have had wallets returned to me before (sans cash). it's an amazing feeling. by the way, if you ever have to replace a wallet, go to brooklyn industries--they are inexpensive, well made, come with a lifetime guarantee and are stylish(!). it's also nice to support a local company. (it's where i went after losing my wallet the last time.)

jodi said...

What an awful moment. Ben is so sweet and smart (but I've found that if I don't have it in my wallet I can't remember where I put the stuff- but that might be unique to me!). I'm glad that you got your id back and the keys. Those are important things.

nejyerf said...

such wise advice from a young one.

i've never had a wallet stolen (and i'm sure by merely typing this i'm jinxing myself and it will be stolen in the next two weeks)

but i DID leave my metallic blue change purse full of quarters at the car wash and when i went back for it, it was gone. i was devastated and i hope whoever found it and used the quarters for the car wash, got a spotty wax job!!

ellesu said...

I'm so sorry. I don't even want to imagine that sinking feeling. I hope things are better now.

One day last summer while I was up that way, I was walking (or rather being pushed) through Soho (I think it was) and this woman (obviously a tourist) was standing in front of a store just boohooing. Her children were standing around her looking lost. Apparently her husband's wallet had been lifted. She just kept saying over and over that nothing like that had happened to them before. Such a helpless feeling.

Ben's correct. I know that and I keep saying I'm going to quit carrying my life in my purse.

east village idiot said...

michael - that is GREAT news about your portfolio!!!! It is indeed scary when your identity is up for grabs.

julie - it really threw me for a loop. I pass a Brooklyn Industries store everyday and will check out the wallet situation!!!

jar - thank you for being so sweet. I will always overstuff my wallet and always regret it....

nejyerf - LOL / may your wallet never be stolen!!! You don't deserve it.

ellesu - my heart goes out for anyone traveling who loses their wallet. I have two friends who were robbed in Paris - at different times - including their passports.
I too must stop carrying my life in my bag...and my son's life and my husband's life....

Kranki said...

Well, whew! Good news. I guess it is just too much to hope for that the cash and such would still be there. My mom lost her brand new reading glasses on the bus. Nobody turned them in. What a stranger would want with prescription glasses is beyond me but it will cost about $400 to replace them. Bummer.