Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, September 26, 1993                   TAG: 9309230093
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 13   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

A PLEASANT REMINDER OF THE GOOD IN US

Bulford accidentally left her purse - containing $400 cash and a bunch of credit cards - in the restaurant during an August visit. When she realized several days later that she had lost the purse, McDonald's was one of the places she called.

To her surprise, the purse was there - cash and credit cards intact.

Bulford - who lives in Pittsburgh - was so delighted she wrote the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce suggesting some sort of recognition for the community and the restaurant crew.

"This type of honesty and integrity is rare these days, and these folks need to be recognized as role models for all of us," Bulford wrote.

As someone who has lost enough umbrellas to cover the entire Roanoke Valley, I know the relief that comes when something you were afraid was gone for good turns up.

And Bulford's letter was a pleasant reminder of the good in us.

As an editor and I discussed the possibilities of a column from the letter, what was really striking is that this really is not that uncommon.

Just about all of us can think of some occasion on which we had expected to find that we were out of luck only to be surprised by "good fortune." We could all probably think of several.

In college, I once left my wallet on top of a soft-drink machine at the Chapel Hill service station where I often filled up the gas tank before heading home. Three hours and almost 200 miles later, I called the station and an attendant walked out to the machine where the wallet was still perched.

A few years ago, I apparently did a lot of squirming in my seat as I watched "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" at a theater in my hometown. My wallet fell out into the seat, and I didn't notice it until the next day. When we went to check, the wallet was still there, lying on the seat, nothing gone.

A couple of weeks ago my daughter left her pocketbook in the restroom of a local restaurant. When we went back a little later, the manager had the pocketbook, which had been turned in by another patron.

Of course, we've probably all lost things that never showed up again. My wife once lost a check for a month's pay that never turned up. And, as I said, somebody's doing a great business in black-market umbrellas, judging by the number I've lost.

Overall, though, it's sort of gratifying that a story about someone having a lost wallet returned is not really news.

Fortunately, most of us are honest, most of us want to be helpful, most of us can be trusted.

In these cynical times, when so many decry a great moral decline in our country, it's good to remember most of us are pretty good neighbors.

Cody Lowe reports on issues of religion and ethics for this newspaper.