Story & Photo – Joseph Boyle
We call this guy I know, whose real name is Jon George, the “Looker”. He does not subscribe to the idea, “Finder’s Keeper’s, Loser’s Weeper’s”. Here is the “Looker’s” story.
LOST & FOUND – Safe Contents
1952: General Dwight David Eisenhower is running for U.S. President. Jon and his pal, Biff, were walking through a wooded area in South Seattle after quitting early from their boring bean picking job. John and Biff were 9 years old. They never just walked. They always walked and gawked. They were lookers.
Spotting something out of the ordinary, Jon and Biff dove into the brush. They recovered property stolen during a burglary and safe cracking caper. The victim business, known as the ABC Amusement Company, was located in Renton, Washington.
ABC gave Jon and Biff each, a $20 reward. $40 was a a big reward back when a donut cost 3 cents. Their lost and found story was written up in The Seattle Times newspaper. Five Star General Eisenhower bumped the kids’ story off the front page back to page 6.
LOST & FOUND – $8,000
1962: When Jon was 19, he found a paper bag containing $8,000 cash. It had been carelessly left behind in the counting room of a grocery store. All Jon had to do was stuff the bag in his shirt and walk out of the store. He was not accountable for the money. To this day, 51 years later, no one would know, had Jon kept the money. Jon chose to call his boss to the counting room and turn the cash back to his employer so it could be properly secured.
LOST & FOUND – $5
1964: Jon had driven over to Washington State University in Pullman, Washington to take his girlfriend to the big college dance.
The next morning, while sitting on a bench, in the middle of the campus, Jon was counting his money. $2 + $5 + $10 = $17 total. The $17 represented this struggling student’s full net worth. Jon needed his money to get back home.
As Jon walked away from the bench, a stranger called out in a loud voice, “Hey, you dropped a $5 bill.” Having the money returned was crucial for Jon at this time in his life. He was the beneficiary of a stranger’s honesty and it felt good. This was a feeling he never forgot.
LOST & FOUND – $700
2006: Like me, Jon loves to ride motorcycles. He was riding on Route 66 when he stopped in Oatman, Arizona, an old ghost town. Sitting on a bench outside the leather shop he spotted a woman’s wallet next to him.
There was $700 cash, a birth certificate, I.D. and other important personal affects. The owner was from Canada. Some calls were made and the wallet was returned including the cash.
LOST & FOUND – Wallet Contents
2011: During a motorcycle ride to Big Bend National Park located on the Southern border between Texas and Mexico, the “Looker” struck again. He found the contents of a man’s wallet in the sand on the Rio Grande’ River beach between the U.S. and Mexico.
The driver’s license indicated the owner was from Pennsylvania. Jon was able to reach the owner by phone to return the materials.
LOST & FOUND – $2,304
2013: I guess the “Looker” can’t help himself. While riding his Harley in the Mississippi Delta he found a woman’s purse in a grocery buggy.
When Jon found Rena Mae’s checkbook inside the purse, he spotted her phone number. He thought, “This is going to be easy.” Disappointment soon followed. The phone number was disconnected.
Jon called Cindy, whose phone number was scribbled on a small scrap of paper inside the purse. He asked Cindy to contact Rena Mae, providing his name and phone number for return contact. There was no return call.
Jon turned the purse over to a local police officer. The officer displayed a weak work ethic and his human relations skills were nonexistent. Jon was not confident regarding the officer’s ethics. With zero confidence in the officer, Jon took an extra step and mailed Rena Mae a letter describing what he had done with her wallet and cash.
Three weeks later, after receiving Jon’s letter, Rena Mae phoned Jon. She told him that after she discovered her purse was missing, she started to call the Kroger’s Grocery Store. She was interrupted by a call from Cindy. Cindy lied when she told Rena Mae that she had found Rena Mae’s purse and had turned it over to the police.
Not knowing Cindy was being deceptive, Rena Mae gave Cindy $125 cash as a reward.
Rena Mae told Jon that she had to laugh. Jon’s letter had mentioned the $304 cash. She had another $2,000 stashed in a lower pocket of the purse. Rena Mae regained possession of her purse, plus the $2,304 cash.
There are more Jon George stories, but I think you have the idea. Jon George is a “looker”.
Hey, Jon, I could use some help. I just lost my car keys to two different cars, all at the same time. Do you make house calls?
