On Saturday, I went to the city with my son and my mother-in-law. After a shopping and eating mission in Greenwich Village, we headed back to the train in the early afternoon. On the way home, I reached for my wallet at some point and noted that it felt oddly positioned, but didn't make any correction. When we got out of the train in Merrick, I felt for it and realized that the train was rolling out with my wallet left on the seat. I tried calling the LIRR, but it was Saturday, so you could only get recorded messages.
At home, I went to the phone book. There was a Lost and Found number listed for LIRR at Penn Station. When I got through, there was a recorded message saying that they just left. I called the Suffolk County office of LIRR, and finally got a human voice. A police clerk was sympathetic, and said she'd radio the people on the train to see if anything was found. When 45 minutes went by, I stopped waiting for that callback, and started researching the phone numbers I'd need to cancel everything.
My wife came home from work, and asked if I'd called my work voicemail. She reasoned that the driver's license would tell them I'm in Merrick, but they wouldn't find my listed number, so if they saw my business card, they'd call that. It turns out that this is just what happened. Somebody from Johnny McGorey's Irish Pub and Restaurant in Massapequa Park called to say that the wallet had been found on the train, took it in to work and turned it in to the bartended, who called me. The four of us rushed into the car, made the 15 minute drive, and ordered a giant plate of appetizers and Guinness. The waitress heard the story and called out the young man from the kitchen. Of course, rewards were given.
The irony of this turning up in an Irish pub was pretty good, since I run the Irish digitization projects at Quinnipiac University library. The food was great, so we'll be back lots of times in the future, and I'd urge other Long Islanders to do likewise.
At home, I went to the phone book. There was a Lost and Found number listed for LIRR at Penn Station. When I got through, there was a recorded message saying that they just left. I called the Suffolk County office of LIRR, and finally got a human voice. A police clerk was sympathetic, and said she'd radio the people on the train to see if anything was found. When 45 minutes went by, I stopped waiting for that callback, and started researching the phone numbers I'd need to cancel everything.
My wife came home from work, and asked if I'd called my work voicemail. She reasoned that the driver's license would tell them I'm in Merrick, but they wouldn't find my listed number, so if they saw my business card, they'd call that. It turns out that this is just what happened. Somebody from Johnny McGorey's Irish Pub and Restaurant in Massapequa Park called to say that the wallet had been found on the train, took it in to work and turned it in to the bartended, who called me. The four of us rushed into the car, made the 15 minute drive, and ordered a giant plate of appetizers and Guinness. The waitress heard the story and called out the young man from the kitchen. Of course, rewards were given.
The irony of this turning up in an Irish pub was pretty good, since I run the Irish digitization projects at Quinnipiac University library. The food was great, so we'll be back lots of times in the future, and I'd urge other Long Islanders to do likewise.
