[Leica] I left my Leica on a train

[photo at frozenlight.eu (Nathan Wajsman)]

Stories about honesty and kindness are always worth telling, so here  
is mine, from my student days in Denmark.

Some time during the summer of 1979 I was at a party at a friend's  
house on the beach. During the night, undoubtedly drunk, a few of us  
went down to the beach for a spot of skinnydipping. The next day,  
besides the hangover, I had to deal with the discovery that my wallet  
had apparently fallen out of my back pocket when we were undressing at  
the beach during the night. I went down to the beach to look for it  
but it was nowhere to be seen. I resigned myself to the loss of the  
relatively modest amount of money and prepared myself for the hassle  
of recreating my identity--university ID, driving license etc.

But then, a couple of days later, my wallet arrived in the mail, along  
with a note from the German tourists who had found it. Not only did  
they not take any of the money, but they went to the trouble of going  
to the post office, buying a padded envelope and sending the whole  
thing back to me (my address was on my driving license, and they could  
see that I had only acquired the license about 6 months earlier, so  
they assumed correctly that the address was still good). Unfortunately  
they did not provide any return address or phone number, so I was  
never able to thank them.

Nathan

Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu
http://www.greatpix.eu
http://www.nathanfoto.com

Books: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=wajsman&x=0&y=0
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog



On Jul 17, 2008, at 6:04 AM, Phil Swango wrote:

> I have three memories worth sharing, but only one is mine.  I had a  
> Leica
> IIIa taken from the glove compartment of my car in a parking lot.   
> It was a
> beater so I didn't get too upset, but one day a friend of mine  
> approached me
> and asked if I was interested in buying an old Leica.  Sure enough,  
> it was
> the one that was stolen!  My friend was quite red-faced -- he had  
> acquired
> it from another friend who may or may not have been the one who took  
> it.  I
> felt a change of friends was in order and took appropriate action. ;-)
>
> Another friend from the army had been stationed in Japan.  He was
> photographing an interesting bridge in the country and somehow  
> managed to
> leave his entire kit and gadget bag on the bridge when he drove  
> off.  Some
> hours later he realized his mistake and drove back to the bridge.   
> And there
> it was -- right where he left it.  His experience left a permanent
> impression of Japanese ethics and propriety, at least in rural Japan  
> in the
> 1960s.
>
> This same guy was also stationed in Korea for a while.  He bought a  
> new
> Nikon F from the PX and, not entirely trusting his houseboy, hid it  
> among
> his belongings, under some clothing in a trunk.  One day he was  
> cleaning
> (fondling) his camera in the room and briefly left to go to the  
> latrine.
> When he got back the camera had vanished from his desk.  He  
> frantically
> tracked down the houseboy and asked if he had any idea about where the
> camera had gone.  "Yessir," he said.  "I saw that you had left it  
> out and
> put it back where you always keep it."  Hmm -- dunno about that  
> one. ;-)
>
> And finally, not a camera tale, but yesterday I went to a coffee  
> shop and
> hooked up to their wifi with my iPod Touch.  When I had checked my  
> email and
> read the paper, I gathered up my belongings and took off.  2 hours  
> later I
> realized my iPod was awol.  Finally recalled where I had been and  
> went back
> to the coffee shop.  Happily, someone had turned it in and I got it  
> back.
>
> Over time I've been impressed with the honesty of most folks, but  
> once you
> have a bad experience it leaves a mark.
>
> -- 
> Phil Swango
> 307 Aliso Dr SE
> Albuquerque, NM 87108
> 505-262-4085
>
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