We stopped for lunch in Somerset, Kentucky. That's when I discovered it. My purse was missing... my purse with pretty much all of our cash for the trip. I remembered putting up on the towel holder in a gas station restroom at our last stop. We had the receipt and called information to get the phone number. The rest of the group went on in to order at Smokey's BBQ. We called and they looked. No purse. A hundred thoughts were running through my head. We don't use credit cards anymore so the loss of the cash was big. Angus had his debit card but mine was in my purse, so was our check book, of course. If we canceled mine would he still be able to get money with his card or did it put a hold on the account? It was Sunday,the bank was closed.
We live in a small town and so we know our banker and we called him at home. He told us to call the bank first thing in the morning, any charges would be covered. Not very comforted by that information, we went back to the table. We discussed it all. I told them that for me, the worst of it was knowing people do stuff like that. I kind of shakes your faith in humanity. That sounds dumb, I know, but I want to believe, I do believe that most folks do the right thing when they can. Jenita told us that when her purse was stolen, they had grabbed all the cash out of it and tossed it in the nearest dumpster. Perhaps we could call the police in that town and they could find the purse, maybe the debit card and check book would still be within.
That sounded promising so we went back outside to make the call. Angus had his new early Father's Day gift, a Garmin, and it gave us the local Police number for Morgantown, Kentucky. The officer who answered was efficient and polite with his deep southern drawl. He didn't make me feel like an idiot (okay, not any more of an idiot than I already did). He took our phone number and said would send someone out to check on it.
My head was still spinning. I kept thinking of more and more things that had been in that bag. My digital camera. My school keys. Angus was quiet and calm, he's used to me doing dumb stuff. We headed back in and sat down with the rest of the crew. There, laying on the table between us was a stack of bills. I didn't know what to say when I saw it. I looked searchingly at Angus who hadn't seen it yet. They'd taken up a little collection for us, these people... most of whom we barely knew. They had collected $300 in those few minutes we were out. Tears welled in my eyes. I had been pretty careful about how I was feeling, nothing seemed real until then. Their generosity moved me back to my faith in humanity again. Yes, I know there are bad people, lots of them. But I still think that they are outnumbered by normal people who do the right thing. It just doesn't get the attention.
As we were finishing up our meal Angus got the call back. The purse had been found. It appeared that everything was intact he said. We decided to go back the 88 miles to retrieve it. The rest of the group would go on and we'd, hopefully, meet them at the Henderson Settlement before dark.
In all the excitement we almost forgot to pay for our meal but when we went back to check on it one of the people from Nixa had paid already paid for it.
We called the police when we got into the tiny town and he met us in the parking lot of the local Dollar Store. He was a big ol' boy and pulled up in his big black SUV. He didn't even get out of the vehicle, just reached his arm out and handed it out the window, telling me again, he thought it hadn't been messed with but he didn't know what it had looked like before. Sure enough, everything was there. Everything. I was thrilled. He told us there are two of that gas station in town and we'd probably been given the phone number of the wrong one. I said I'd sure like to give him a big hug. He laughed and told us that "Oh, no. This is a small town and everyone'll hear about it." Laughed again and was on his way.
That's it. We returned all the money given us but we kept the love that had come with it. Our hearts were filled with such gratitude that every one of those 15 people felt like kin. The couple who'd bought our meal refused to be reimbursed. We missed the evening devotions but arrived at our destination just as it was growing dark. Heard our names called out from a porch swing as we drove slowly through the peaceful Settlement in the foggy dusk of the surrounding hills. We were greeted and hugged and settled in quickly. It was peace And we felt ready for whatever adventures lay ahead.
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