Savers candies with flavors including wild
cold
as
cherry, Cl-O-Ve, Butter Rum, Stik-Owe realized
Pep, Crysto-Mint and many other
that our good
tastes from which to choose.
fortune may have
Paper dolls, Colorform
been short lived. We tried
stick-ons, a plastic maketo console ourselves over and
up bag complete with
over that we had done what we
lipstick, rouge and a heartwere taught was proper behavior in
shaped necklace would be a
the situation.
wonderful choice for one of the
Day after day we drew diagonal lines on
girls. To us, the possibilities were
the December calendar, bringing us closer to the
endless.
time when we would revisit the Presque Isle Police
As we chose the items that
Department and discover whether or not we would be
we wanted, our lists grew shorter, the
recipients of the money we found that Friday night, or if
bags we carried became heavier and
o u r someone had reported the loss and come forward to claim
wallet contents lighter. Now the snow was
c o m i n g it as their own. Even as that possibility existed, we couldn’t
down in earnest, and we knew we would have to allow resist sharing between us the plans that we had should the
extra time to be home before the curfew horn sounded. We money be ours!
would have to finish our Christmas list another evening. In
Exactly one week later, we retraced our steps
an effort to shield our faces from the wet, weighty snow that from home feeling excited and yet wary at the same time.
was accumulating rapidly, our eyes were cast downward as Entering the Police Department building once again,
we took one step after another. Noticing something out of sitting in the same chairs across the desk from the Chief,
place on the nearly indiscernible sidewalk, I shifted all of his expression was unreadable while our hearts thumped
my purchases to my left hand, crouched down to investigate loudly in our chest. Dutifully, the Chief gave us a speech
and picked up a twenty-dollar bill! Martha and
about the importance of always doing the
I were so excited, our eyes wide in disbelief
right thing, no matter what. He pointed
“We did not
at our good fortune. This would solve all
out to us how much worth that money
of our “money problems” for the yet-to- hesitate in what actually carried, what it would mean to a
be-bought gifts with some left over for us
this particular time of
we needed to family especially at and serious expression,
to have fun with. Immediately however,
year. From his tone
our expressions turned serious as we both do, knowing that we were fairly certain the rightful owner
realized and verbalized that someone had our parents had had claimed their money and whether or
lost this money, and it was Christmas
not they needed it for bill paying, buying
time. Incidentally, today that $20 would instilled in us a groceries or to purchase Christmas gifts, we
be worth approximately $135. We did not sense of always mentally prepared ourselves to know that
hesitate in what we needed to do, knowing “doing the right indeed, we did the right thing.
that our parents had instilled in us a sense
Just as we stood up and prepared to
thing.”
of always “doing the right thing.”
leave, the Chief asked us to remain for a few
In mutual agreement, we took a right
moments. I can still see him reaching into a safe
turn off of Main Street, walked the short distance to Second next to his desk and the faintest of smiles appeared on his
Street and straight through the imposing front doors of face as he retrieved that twenty-dollar bill. Turning to face
the Presque Isle Police Department. An official-looking us, he held the bill in his hand, turning it over once or twice
dispatcher sat behind a desk and after we explained to him and looked from Martha and to me.
why we were there, he asked us to sit and wait. Several
Once again he explained to us that he was impressed
minutes passed before a tall, uniformed gentleman came knowing ѡ