7/2/2020 The Chatterbox
Cottage Grove Sentinel
Betty Kaiser
For many years I wrote a weekly “Neighborhood News” column. It was always a high point in my day when readers would call, email or write me notes about good things that were happening in their lives and neighborhoods.
I have one of those good news columns today. I heard the following story somewhat belatedly and tucked it away in my memory bank only to lose it! I remembered it this week and asked the family to share it with you. This local heartwarming story began in Creswell, in April 2018.
One Saturday morning, Kaila Ollivant (a then 16 year old sophomore at Cottage Grove High School) and two friends pulled into the Creswell Coffee Shop* for some breakfast before going shopping. As they parked, Kaila felt the car run over something. Getting out of the car she discovered the “something” was a smashed wallet.
She took pictures of the wallet that contained the usual stuff plus a family heirloom money clip and a significant amount of money. It also contained a school ID of a young teen, Keaton S., in the 7th grade in North Hollywood, California. The distance didn’t discourage Kaila. She was determined to find him and return the wallet and its contents.
She began at the Creswell Police Dept. but they are closed on weekends. She then left a note at the Coffee Shop and took the wallet home where she and her mom Tracy brainstormed. So many questions. North Hollywood is a long ways away and it was Spring Break. How did the wallet end up in a Creswell parking lot? Perhaps, he and his family were passing through the area on vacation? They called the Creswell hotels with no success.
The following Monday Tracy called the student’s school and inquired if he still attended there. Eventually, someone said yes and they would contact his family. Within minutes, she received a call from Keaton’s dad. He couldn’t believe that the wallet had been found and that everything was intact. He called Kaila their “Angel” and filled in the blanks on how the wallet got there.
Keaton’s grandparents live in Creswell and he came up to visit during Spring Break. He had been staying there and doing chores to earn money to open his first bank account. Ironically, he had gone on a bike ride with his now missing wallet and lost all his hard earned money.
When he discovered it was gone and told his grandmother, she said (as all good grandmothers do), “That is why I told you to put your money in your suitcase until you get home so you won’t lose it!” A lesson learned like most of us do—the hard way.
After Keaton’s dad told him that his wallet had been found, his parents said he was on Cloud 9! “He spent the night singing the praises of Kaila and the entire state of Oregon. He even talked of attending the University of Oregon!” Now that’s joy and gratitude!
The wallet was soon sent from Oregon to a grateful Keaton in Calif. In the meantime, both families had discussions about the wallet’s journey and life’s learning experiences of character building, including responsibility, ethics and treating people as you want to be treated.
But the story continues. A sum of money had been offered to Kaila as a finder’s fee but she declined. Keaton wrote Kaila thanking her for being so kind and awesome. He was so grateful to have the money and items returned. He wanted to repay her in some way so he purchased a gift card at the coffee shop for her and her friends to go for breakfast! He specifically recommended his favorite, the Florentine Crepe. Kaila thought that was very cool but her real reward was his joy in the returned wallet.
After many exchanges of emails, pictures and notes, the families had become friends. They made a date to meet. Keaton’s family came to Oregon over July Fourth where they met for lunch. They seem to have bonded over more than a lost wallet and a good Samaritan named Kaila. The knowledge that good people still exist in this crazy world warmed all of their hearts.
In closing, I’m quoting a note from Keaton’s aunt that speaks from her heart for most of us:
“My heart filled with joy when I got this news. I’m relieved my nephew will be reunited with his belongings. But I’m more relieved to know that in a society full of hostility and self-entitlement there are still people (a teenager no less) who will do the right thing and prioritize kindness above personal gain. She restored some of my ever decreasing faith in humanity and taught my nephew a valuable lesson.”
Contact Betty Kaiser’s
Chatterbox by
No comments:
Post a Comment