movie morals

there’s a local theater that runs the best program during the summer. they play second-run children’s movies at 10:00 a.m. on tuesdays for free. the only thing that costs money are the snacks, and even they’re cheap. it’s a fabulous way to spend a few hours out of the heat. the most amazing thing happened to me at this movie theater last month. i had slipped a $20 bill into my pocket, and on our way back from the restroom, susanna and i stopped by the concession area for some popcorn. i reached into my pocket for the money – but it wasn’t there. i tried my other pocket. not there either. frustrated with myself, we returned to our seats, where i dug around my bag, my seat, the floor … and still came up empty-handed. then i started second-guessing myself, as i always do. am i sure i put it in my pocket at all? could i have left it in the car? but a minute later, i was immersed again in “bee movie” (it’s fairly entertaining), and forgot all about it. a short 30 minutes later, susanna turned to me once more with the urgent whisper, “i need to go potty!” and since there is no such thing as, “do you think you can hold it?” to a newly toilet-trained child, i immediately whisked her away to the restroom again. as we were walking out, an usher approached me. in his outstretched hand was a $20 bill. “ma’am, i think you dropped this.” i looked at this teenager, incredulously, for two reasons. one, i couldn’t believe he had actually tracked me down among the throngs of people there that day; and two, i couldn’t believe he was actually returning this money to me, when it was more than he probably makes in three hours of work. “i found it on the floor, and went to the security camera to review the footage to figure out whose it was,” he explained. "i've been looking out for you ever since." i thanked him profusely, and talked to the theater manager to share my gratitude. what i really wish i could do is to call the boy’s parents. there are not many teenagers who would go to such lengths to return a lost $20 bill. i want to know how they instilled in him that kind of moral sense in a world that, at every corner, encourages the exact opposite. i pray that chris and i are already laying the foundation to raise our children in such a way to ensure that, fifteen years from now, they too will be tracking down strangers and returning lost money to them.