You didnt answer the question. Did you or your wife show her some sort of appreciation for saving you guys $1000? Why do you think there are more people disagreeing with you regarding this incident? You posted a story expecting people to be on your side, only to find out that many people disagree with you. Why don't you step back and listen to others, then you may see that they have points as well? I would be frustrated if same thing happen to me, but I would definitely reward the lady for getting my valuable property back and thank her for the trouble she had to go through. At the end, you got your camera back, that's the end of the story. It ONLY took 37 days!
I"m sorry that people expect to get paid to do the right thing. My wife was prepared to come to her house; Camera Lady opted instead to "inconvenience" herself and drive the 10 minutes to a shopping center. BTW, I asked my wife about it tonight. When CL departed the shopping center the first time, she took a picture of the car's clock to prove that she had been there on time. In the background of the photo, Mrs. G says that you can see the red hood of the car she came in the second time-- and evidently the first time. No wonder my wife couldn't find her in a silver T&C minivan.... My wife is grateful to get the camera back and was prepared to do all the inconveniencing to get the camera back and was prepared to thank her upon getting the camera back. According to Mrs. G, she said or did nothing that could have set the C-Lady off except to ask her to return to the meeting place-- this time with a phone and... in what color car? The lady mistakenly took a camera that didn't belong to her. She deserves no reward. She owes it to us to make a prompt effort to rectify her mistake. My wife was willing to drive the miles to get the camera back. Camera Lady wanted to handle it somewhat differently. You don't pay rewards to adults in situations like this-- especially when they have a major role in the screw-up. Had she called us on Day 2 and we got the camera back on Day 37, that would be one thing. However, we talked to her on Day 36 and got the camera back on Day 37. That is nothing but inconsideration. You do understand that she picked up the camera because she "thought" she knew to whom it belonged, not because she was the last soul at the Girl Scout camp? Rather than just turning it over to Camp authorities, she took it home. Yes, I was surprised at the response here but then I realized that I shouldn't be-- given a lot of stuff I read on here. It's not a finders-keepers world.
Can someone give the cliffnotes of this thread? Is this shaping up to be an epic thread because it's been on the front page for a pretty long time.
Seriously? Your wife was "prepared to thank her" for returning an expensive camera? How generous. She deserves a reward for not keeping it when she very easily could have. That's what you're losing sight of. Your whole attitude reminds me of the adage "no good deed goes unpunished."
It's a sad day when someone expects to be financially rewarded for doing the right thing-- especially when they contributed to the problem. And kept contributing to the problem... and had to be burned out of their hole with a promise to go to the authorities.
If you mistakenly picked up someone else's $1000 camera would you wait 37 days to return it and would you expect to be financially rewarded for your "thoughtfulness?"
A promise to go to the authorities? Are you stupid or something? She voluntarity notified the Girl Scouts that she had the camera. By doing that, she proved she had every intention of returning it. And your double standards are disgusting. Apparently everyone should do the "right thing" except you. All you need to know is that this woman facilitated the return of your $1,000 camera without asking for a reward when she could've very easily kept it for herself. That in itself is deserving of a reward. But instead, you're looking for reasons to justify being a douche.
This proves that short-cuts aren't always best. Yes, she notified the Scouts a week or 10 days after she stupidly walked off with a camera that wasn't hers. Then, yes, she calls the Scouts and then, yes, she stops communicating with the Scouts. Then, yes, she kicks it into high gear when we promise to go to the authorities. Then, yes, she acts all pissy when she and my wife miss each other-- ENTIRELY due to the fact that this lady came in a different car than she told my wife to look for and then compounded that screw-up by forgetting her cellphone for the rendezvous. Who do you think the authorities would have sided with? Her?! I don't want the lady to get into trouble. I just wanted the camera back. I didn't threaten her. I told the Scouts that I would have to resort to police authority if they didn't press her further. Remember, the Scouts wouldn't give us her name/number. If they felt they needed to tell her that to get her to act then that's on them. In what world do people get rewarded for not practicing thievery? Sad.
In what world do good samaritans get threatened with police action for returning other people's property? Of course she acted pissy. You threatened to go to the police....I honestly think that if the police were given all the details, they wouldn't have gotten involved. Looks like she would've been better off keeping the camera. You and your wife would've learned a few valuable lessons.
According to who? The GS camp? Do you have proof of this? So wait - for all this stuff you are b****ing about, you wouldn't think she was an ******* if she hadn't thrown the camera at your wife? In other words, you actually don't think any of that other stuff was that big a deal by itself? Because you seem to spending a lot of time complaining about that stuff, as opposed to the thrown camera. One thing we never forgot to ask: was your wife, in fact, on the wrong side of the parking lot? Perhaps the other woman had trouble with her other car. Or maybe her husband took it in the morning. She probably figured that she could identify your wife's car fairly easily if she was in the right place, no?
If that lady takes a camera from a public place that she knows is not hers and then it turns out it doesn't belong to the person she thought she was helping and does not return the camera, I'm pretty sure that is stealing. What would you call it? I don't think she stole it initially but once she knew it wasn't hers, she has crossed over into the grey zone where not making significant effort to return it is stealing it. What else would you call it?
When that kind of laziness involves someone else's property, it becomes stealing. How long do you think we should have happily waited and been relieved to get the camera back? 90 days? 180 days? 3 years... only to have it returned just in time for my daughter's Middle School graduation!!
There's nothing wrong with the approach you took to get the camera back. And you got it ONE day after getting in contact with the person who had it. Again, you have no idea what conversations were taking place between GS and the woman. The only issue is you then ascribing motivations and intent onto the person who had the camera, based on very limited information that you actually have.
Nope, I have a niece. I have also "graduated" from 5th grade. It was a non-event. There was no ceremony or anything, school ended for the year and I began the next year in 6th grade. High school and subsequent are the celebratory graduations (less so community college/juco if you are moving on to a four-year degree) in my opinion.
Many parents disagree with your opinion. Nothing wrong with folks wanting to document various milestones in their kids' lives. I suspect when you have kids, your views of when to take pictures will change. Some schools are K-5, then 6-8, then 9-12. Moving from 5th to 6th (i.e. changing schools) is a bigger deal.
I think it's part of the everyone-gets-a-trophy syndrome. I don't think I ever had a graduation until high school. The way that lots of kids coast through school, it has lost its meaning. Believe me, there were lots of cameras there: still and video.
