Man picked up a paper off the road to throw it away—he wasn't prepared for the life-changing surprise inside
We’ve often heard that what makes you a good person is what you’re doing when no one’s watching. Choosing to do the right thing when there are no eyes on you can be a challenging task and is often a harder choice compared to just going with the flow. A man named Shawn Davis faced this choice when he came across paper lying on the ground, KENS 5 reported. He was near a gas station in Texas when he saw some paper randomly lying around. His first good deed was to pick it up to dispose of it in case it was garbage. However, his second good deed came soon after he was stunned to discover the contents of the paper.
When the man first spotted the paper, he saw there were tire marks on it. It indicated that the piece of paper had been lying there for a while. Thinking it was garbage, the man kindly decided to get rid of it. “I thought, ‘Hey, I'll just throw that away real quick,’” he recalled, as stated by LOCAL 12. However, when he carried it, he found it a little heavy. Curiously, he opened the sheet to find $20 bills stacked one after the other. While many would call it their lucky day and put the package straight into their pockets, Davis had another plan.
He immediately knew he wanted to get the money, no matter the amount, back to its original owner. A post shared by Boerne Breaking News revealed the social media plea he put out. Sharing a picture of the bills and a glimpse of the check behind it inside the envelope, he wrote, “Envelope full of cash and a personal money order for daycare payment.” He added details of where he found it and also added contact details. Davis also requested the owner to share a few details about the total amount and so on, so he would know that it was the right person.
He mentioned that he’d love to give the money to the owner and if not, he would be driving to the address mentioned to give the recipient the check. It was clear that the man had no selfish plans and was ready to go to great lengths to return the money. His reason behind it was a thoughtful one — “Just putting this here now in case it might take a weight off someone’s shoulders and let them sleep easier tonight.” The post received quite the attention. While it was to attempt to find the owner, it was also to commend the man for his integrity and honest actions.
People started tagging, sharing and eventually, within an hour’s time, the envelope was back in the hands of its rightful owner. “It moved fast. It moved really, really quickly," Davis said of the attempt to locate the person. Rhonda Culpepper Retzloff, presumably the owner of the money, shared a picture of herself with Davis and said, “Thank you so much for returning the money! Your honesty is amazing!! We need more of this in the world right now!” Lisa Kirkland Parks added, “Bravo to you…so honest and kind!” Sarah Ann Sucher remarked, “That’s what humanity looks like!!! Good job, sir.”