Wednesday, January 10, 2007

An Unselfish Deed

I love the interenet. Granted, it isn't a very reliable research tool. And you have to be careful, or you might see something awefully naughty. But it brings me my e-mail, and allows me to journal where you all can enjoy it, and it brings me Yahoo News, which, despite the national trend to the contrary, actually gives me some good and uplifting news every so often. The kinds of stories that might help bolster a person's faith in humanity, rather than shake your head sadly and go numb inside. News like the story of Ray Heilwagen. You see, the other day, Ray got a phone call from a man named Stephen Breitenstein, who told Ray that he had found Ray's wallet, and was going to send it back to him through the mail.

I know what you're thinking. Just wait a minute. People return wallets all the time. Sometimes they're hoping for a reward rather than doing it out of the kindness of their hearts, but they still do it! Every day! What makes Ray's wallet so special?

Well, besides the fact that it was very special to Ray, I suppose you might be impressed that he had lost the wallet in France. During World War II. After being hauled off the field of battle because he'd been blown into a river by a mortar shell. Ray recieved a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, but he lost his wallet.

That is, his wallet was lost until Stephen found it among his late father's belongings. It seems that Stephen's father found it during the war, and brought it home, hoping to return it. Not knowing how to go about it, it sat, forgotten, in a drawer for six decades!

So how did Stephen find Ray? He used the internet.

I love the internet. Sure, it isn't always a reliable source of information. But at least Ray got his wallet back.

Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
011007

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