Good Samaritan rewarded for efforts
Chuffed because his wallet was once again in his possession, Mr Stonell tracked his good Samaritan down.
For the superstitious, Friday the 13th is a day shrouded in bad luck.
For Graham Stonell, however, last Friday was a day of immense relief, free from any form of jinx.
On Thursday, during a shopping excursion, Mr Stonell lost his wallet, which contained all his ATM cards and driver’s licence.
“My hands were full and I had initially put all the shopping on my car’s roof, so I could open the doors,” he said.
His wallet was one of the items that joined the shopping goods on his vehicle’s roof. “After putting everything in the car, I forgot about my wallet and drove off. It was only when I wanted to withdraw cash from an ATM, I noticed my wallet was not on me.”
Mr Stonell checked if he hadn’t misplaced the wallet in the vehicle, before retracing his steps. “I searched for two hours before giving up.”
Disheartened, Mr Stonell feared for the worst. “I couldn’t sleep on Thursday. I checked my bank accounts online every few minutes, waiting to see if there was any activity, but there wasn’t any.”
On Friday morning, Mr Stonell started the tedious process of cancelling his ATM cards and obtaining new ones. Arriving at First National Bank, waiting for it to open, Mr Stonell’s phone rang.
“Rashree Ramgoolam called me and the first thing she asked, was if I lost anything. I said I did, and explained how I had lost my wallet the day before.”
Mrs Ramgoolam was an employee from ABSA Bank, who gave Mr Stonell the good news that his wallet had been found. “I immediately went to see him.
It was then I found out how my wallet landed up at the bank,” Mr Stonell added.
A woman found the wallet and looked inside for some form of identification. She noticed Mr Stonell’s ABSA ATM card, took the wallet to the bank and requested the staff to contact him.
Chuffed because his wallet was once again in his possession, Mr Stonell tracked his good Samaritan down. Amanda Msibi was pleasantly surprised when Mr Stonell contacted her, asking if they could meet.
He said the reason he called her, was because he believed Ms Msibi deserved to be rewarded for her good deed.
“She really saved me a lot of time and effort by returning my wallet, and this is the least I could do,” he explained as he handed over a cake and a monetary reward to her.
Ms Msibi said she only did what she believed was the right thing to do. “I was in my car when Mr Stonell drove past me.
As he went by, I saw a wallet fly into the air, with money flying around. I stopped my car, picked up the wallet and all the money that flew out. I felt his belongings should be returned, so I took it the bank where I knew it would be returned to him,” she explained.
While Friday the 13th might belong to mischievous spirits, Mr Stonell found his angels were up and about on the day as well. “It isn’t everyday that someone goes out of their way to return you wallet, with all it contents,” Mr Stonell concluded.
