Look what we missed

Logged onto Yahoo today and found out that people all over Japan are finding millions of yen in their mailboxes. Sure, right after we leave Japan. Why couldn't they have started this a few month earlier?

According to a report on Yahoo news, residents of a Tokyo apartment building found unsealed plain envelopes in their mailboxes with cash inside. The total was more than $15,000.

And that's not all. A woman in Kobe, just a mere 40 minutes from us by bullet train, found a million yen in her mailbox. One hundred yen equals about $1.20 so you do the math. I know it's crazy, but I'm thinking that I lived near Kobe. I have a friend in Kobe. If I had been in Japan, it coulda been me! :)

On top of that, someone has been leaving money in men's restrooms asking people to do good deeds. Hey, I know some men. With six degrees of separation between me and everyone in the world, it could have been someone who knew someone I know!

If only we had stayed in Japan. We might have been the beneficiaries of some of the following yen from heaven:

• Bills worth 960,000 yen were inexplicably seen "falling" in front of a convenience store.


• A 67-year-old woman who found an envelope containing 10 million yen of stacked bills in her mailbox.


• A woman walking on a bridge over Tokyo's Sumida River told officers that she saw bills falling at her feet from an elevated expressway above on July 6.

No one knows who is flinging around all this money in one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Too bad they couldn't have taken some of it, flown to someplace that really needs it and tossed it around there. But my cynicism is taking over. Pardon me.

In typical Japanese fashion, those who found the money took it to police. Although the woman on the Tokyo bridge did say she saw some deviants pocketing the cash. For shame.

Dutifully, police are holding most of the money in case the rightful owner eventually decides to reveal his/her identity. Never mind the fact that the person obviously want to remain anonymous. Protocol must be followed. After one year, the people who found it can claim it. Meanwhile, those who were not so law-abiding will be enjoying the nefarious fruits of their evil greed.

I'm sorry to say that if I had been in Japan and the money had come in MY mailbox, it never would have crossed my mind to turn it in. And if I had seen money flying around outside a convenience store, I would have assumed that God was having a chuckle as He skipped the middleman to get us the money we needed. I wouldn't have even felt a twinge of guilt as I pocketed the yen from heaven. How about you?

If you're interested in the details, here's the link to the news story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070729/lf_afp/lifestylejapancharitymysteryoffbeat_070729023457