I came into work today, and saw an unmarked brown paper sack on one of the benches just outside the library (where people go to smoke).  I see abandoned items literally every single day* and often, they're clearly garbage that someone chose not to throw away, but other times, it's less clear.  If it's something valuable, we put them in a little safe in the back and put a note on them designating the date and who found the item.  If it's something less so, there's a big container/tub where items go for a week, then get transferred to a Week 2 tub, and after that . . . well, there's a farm upstate where the items are free to roam and play.  And if it's food-related or simply trash, that's where I toss them.

An hour or so after seeing the sack, I went out there to look in at it, and I saw a sandwich, a green apple, a mustard packet . . . and a couple of dollars under a napkin (actually, I put them under the napkin when I saw them so they weren't so obvious anymore).
I would normally have tossed the whole thing, but now I didn't dare.  But I also didn't dare leave the bag out there in the sun--I know how little money these homeless folks h--okay, I imagine how little money homeless folks have--and assume they would miss even two or three bucks, which makes the difference between a cheap meal . . . and nothing.  So, I grabbed the bag and took it to my desk, then stuck a Post-It note on the cement bench where it had been telling the owner that I had it and he could pick it up from me.
It seems unlikely (at this time, anyway) that anyone will come claim it, but I wanted to give him/her a chance.  And this is all totally unnoteworthy, I realize.
But just a moment ago, a young man--a student-type--was walking down the inside hall, looked over to where my note was, then promptly did a U-turn and headed outside.  Ah ha, I thought, here's our culprit!  (and by that, I don't mean anything negative about the guy, just a fun word to use in a blog post . . . stop getting so upset about words, okay?)  So I watched the kid leave the building and go out to the atrium, where he read my note . . . then promptly took out his phone to take a picture of it.
What the hey?  I'm currently racking my brain to figure out why someone would take a picture of my note--is it funny?**  Does it have some kind of double-meaning behind it?  Is it an in-joke or is he taking it that way?  Does he think it's a clue to something?
I can't say, but then, I can never really say, unless I ask.
Well, a few hours have passed, and nobody came to claim it.  I figured I'd toss the food, but then I thought I'd go ahead and eat the apple.  But it turned out to stink of cigarettes, so I did toss it.  Wow, another truly awful blog post.  Sorry.


*This is actually not technically true, as I started keeping track in August, and there was a single Wednesday where I didn't find a wallet, keys, library card, water bottle, sketchbook, headphones, iPad, or one of those vaping mechanisms.  A single day.
**Probably, as I'm a pretty funny guy.  You should see me in swimtrunks.