Lesson Learned

A few months ago I lost my handy dandy sanDisk m240 MP3 player. You know the one with all of those 'keep on smiling' songs on it. I was pretty sure I had left it at my dad's garage when I changed the blades on his lawn mower but after an extensive search I realized I must have left it somewhere else.

As the days went on I started racking my brain as to where it may be and then it occurred to me that I always leave it in my vehicle at work and I never lock the doors. After that epiphany it didn't take long to arrive at the conclusion that somebody at work had stolen my mp3 player. I have to admit I was a bit sore for a few days sizing up all the little thieves to see who was the perpetrator of the crime.

Since I had no proof there wasn't much I could do so I went out and bought another, yep everything the same. Then not long after that I showed up at the gym and a young guy I know was walking around with my mp3 player. Oh how guilty I felt for thinking evil thoughts of my fellow employees. I was ashamed that I had allowed myself to give in to such thoughts without proof.

I started wondering how the guy at the gym got a hold of the player. Had he taken it from my gym bag on a night my partner shamed me into putting it up? No, that didn't seem possible because he was walking around with it without fear of me seeing it. Maybe it fell out of my bag and he picked it up or it was in lost and found and he claimed it. I had seen him talking nice with the girl at the counter. Either way he had no right to keep something that wasn't his.

I tried several times to get a good look at it to see if I recognized a mark or the play list on it. I mean really how many people would have Mad World, Wichita Lineman and Reef on their player at the same time? I just couldn't get a good look plus he could have changed the music. So I decided the next time I saw him I would ask him where he got it, and some other questions that would trick him into confessing that it wasn't his. Then I would describe the music that was on it and BAM! he would have to give it up.

Well the gods must have been smiling on me because I didn't see him in the gym for a few weeks and then my dad came into my office yesterday and plopped my old player down on my desk. He said he had found it in a bag in his garage. Yes, after all these months it was exactly where I left it.

So it was a good lesson learned. The next time I lose something I'll keep the finger of blame directly pointed at the guilty party, me.