Rich For A Few Hours

[Willie J Moye]

Rich For A Few Hours

I awoke this morning with a memory fro the past in my head so I decided to write it down because it was fresh in my mind at this time. 

Then I thought it would be best to put it here because they say what is put on the internet lives forever and most of you out there should keep that in mind when posting. “Your post will live forever and you can not take it back once you hit enter.”

My story begins a little something like this and keep in mind this is my interpretation of how I perceived the situation that happened.

I was on my way from work. 

This was at the time when I was put on the work or quite shift at my job at the hospital. I was given this shift of punishment as a do it or quite for refusing to work the 7 AM to 7 PM shift that my manager assigned me to work. I told her that I had two little girl and could not work that shift as a single parent. 

You see, at this time my mother was my only source of babysitting and she left for work at 5 AM every morning and got off at 1 PM. The girls had to be at school by 8 AM and got out at 2:30 PM. I was now working 7 AM to 3 PM.  

I had been doing this for about three years and the school would let me drop them off at 6:45 AM and had an after-school program or a bus would take hem to the Boys and Girls Club after school. I had the perfect shift but when you piss off the big dog you get bit so I ended up with the dead man shift. 

It was a 7 PM to 3 AM shift. I had just got off from work and was on my forty-five-minute walk home. I at this time could not afford to buy a car and know of no one to take or pick me up at this time in the AM. 

I was halfway into the walk when I entered the sidewalk that went through the churchyard. I was always told while growing up that you should always look up when you walk and not down but on this morning my head and thoughts were heavy so I was looking down because I felt down.

As I was looking down as I pass the church I saw a bank bag laying before me. I picked it up and looked around. There was no on one the street that night but me so I looked inside it. There was some credit cards, drivers license, $1, $5, $10, 20, $50 and a few larger bills. 

The bank bag was so fat that it was calling my name. Yes, I heard my name being called. It sounded like it was coming from the bank bag or maybe it was coming from within the church. It was around four in the morning and not a good idea to investigate but if it was coming from the bag full of money, I could deal with that. 

I also at that time I was a single dad of two beautiful little girls at that time and I was broke times three plus. I took another quick look around, put the bank bag in my enter coat pocket and did a fast step to my mothers' house. She was my babysitter while I worked. 

When I got to my mom's place, yes, I counted it. There was $6500.00 in it. The first thing that came into my mind was the words that I heard in church that went ”The Lord works in mysterious ways.”

Believe me, I needed and could use the money but it hit me like a ton of bricks. Keeping the money would be a great big help in my life but the owner is probably hurting right now for his loss so I did the other right thing and some might say it was crazy. But more would say I did the right thing. 

I gave the owner a call about eight in the morning after I took a nap. To make this short, he came to pick up the money and said thank you and left. ”Thank You And l

Left”, I just had to repeat that part as it is echoing in my mind might now.

That's right, no reward and no here's a few dollars for finding and returning my money. JUST A THANK YOU and he left. 

I stood on the porch as the thought of a new car, new clothes for my girls and a big screen drove off down the road. 

It's now about twenty-two plus years later. I can't for my life remember the persons’ name or how they looked. I do remember that it was a white (excuse me, Caucasian) male in his late fifty's at that time.

Now if you read this little blasted from my past and think I should have received something for returning the bank bag, what would you have given me for giving you back you lost $6500.00.

[Troy]

Wow 22 years later and this story is still weighing on your mind. 

 

I would have defintely given you something i don't know how much but at least a few hundred dollars.

 

Did you ever quit that job @Willie J Moye? 

[Willie J Moye]

I saw an article before I went to bed that sounded formular to that moment in my life. That gave me a flash back.  No, I stuck with job until a shift became available because another employee quit on the shift that I needed. 

[NubianFellow]

@Willie J Moye  I have to admit brother, you were a single Black dad of two beautiful daughters who was broke! (Times 3) You also had a memory of the god you praise of working in mysterious ways. At this point, the universe was talking to you. You prayed for a miracle and you found a stash of 6.5k. If you still believe in that white jesus you worship, he answered your prayers and delivered you the answer to your prayers. Instead of feeding your daughters (who were depending on you to provide for them) the slave mentality kicks in (your religion) and tells you that even though the universe is finally in your favor, what you need to do is return the money, so you and your kids can stay hungry and some old racist white man can laugh at you while you hand over his money to him.

 

In your mind, you were brainwashed to believe that you were doing a greater good for your jesus that you serve and obey. Even when it would be easy to reason that he was actually trying to assist you. At this point, the buffoonery is so pathetic that even Jesus is laughing at you even though he only exists in your mind anyway.

 

I want to give you a break because I understand many of my brothers and sisters are in love with these nonsense religions, but bruh... you had 2 daughters! Shame on you! When your children are starving, no one needs money more than they do. You put a white man's well-being over your own children? Your story is a reflection of slave mentality. When the Africans came over to the America's they wondered why the salves weren't rebelling or trying to escape. It's because the white man knew one thing about us, which was the fact that slaves are made in the mind first.

 

You have every reason to be haunted by those actions. Because your children could have benefited from you being just a little bit smarter.

 

At the end of the day, that white man did what he was supposed to do. He probably wanted to pet you and say, "Good job!"

 

Side note: Did it even occur to you to take something for yourself and family and then return the rest of the funds anonymously or was it important that he knew the person who was doing the kind deed? Well, it was kind to that white man. No kind deed was being done to your children.

 

Sorry brother, but I have to ask, if put in that same position with all you have learned since then, would you still make the same decision?

 

To answer your question about what I would have given you, I'm not sure. If I knew your situation and how much need you were in, I'd probably have given you half, depending on my situation. Because at least I would have seen you as a human being. Whatever I gave you, I would have asked you if it was enough. All of this is assuming that we look alike. If you didn't look like me, I would have probably told you thanks before I left while counting my money to make sure every dollar is there.

On 11/4/2018 at 2:30 PM, Willie J Moye said:

But more would say I did the right thing. 

This is the part of your story that sent chills down my spine.

[Troy]

This year I lost my wallet twice credit cars, and close to $100 in cash.  Once at the beach and once in a club.

 

At the beach someone gave the wallet to a cop and the cop looked me up in a database called my next of kin who called me. I called the cop and he drove my wallet over to where I was.

 

In the club went to the DJ booth and asked him to make an announcement. He did and about 30 minutes later my wallet was return.

 

I'm far from a rich man and I need every penny that I have (one would think I'd be more careful with my wallet), so each time the wallet was returned I was grateful.  It would have been much easier for each person who returned the wallet to keep it.  Maybe if I have 6 large in my wallet it would have been a different story...

 

I'm also not sure I would have returned a wallet with that much cash myself.

 

But I can't condemn someone else that does.

 

@NubianFellow, remind me never to leave any valuables alone in your prescence  

[NubianFellow]

@Troy LOL. Hope I wasn't being too candid.

 

We all do dumb things at the end of the day. Reading this confession made me think of some of the dumb things I did too in my earlier years and I guess it just struck a nerve. Wasn't so much mad at the fact that he gave the money back but I think it had to do more with the dynamics in this scenario.  I guess sometimes I am just a little bit too old skool.

 

@Willie J Moye I was being sarcastic to prove a point but I get it brother, you messed up. That's a part of life. We live and learn. If we never make mistakes, then we never grow.