It was the day after New Year’s. It had been raining slightly, so the streets were still a little damp and the skies a bit grey. As I crossed (well, really jaywalked) across the street to save a few wasted steps, I spied a little puff of cloth in the gutter in front of 301 East 69th, the building at the end of my street. Being the type to keep our block free of litter, I bent over to pick it up, albeit gingerly, with the tip of two fingers.
Once in hand I noticed that despite its current locale in the gutter, it was pretty clean with the exception of a little bit of gravel and moisture in one corner. Closer examination revealed it was brand new, and the tag said “Hermes, Made in Paris”. It was likely made of the finest silk in the world, and the pattern, depicting little yellow figures on a backdrop of purple and green, was quite quaint.
I don’t know how this man’s silk pocket square got into the gutter. Or why there was a dime lying next to it. But thanks to my sharp eye, nimble back, and desire to keep my block clean, I’m proud to say it comes with a new story to tell about it.
Have you ever been rewarded by trying to do a little good around your neighborhood?
Sometimes, no good deed goes unpunished because in Manhattan, you’ve got a 50/50 chance that Hermes pocket square was a knockoff!
That’s true, Mark. But this one was the real deal! Hey, even the knock-offs look good, and the price was right in either case!
I’ve never found anything very valuable, but probably the best thing I found picking up trash was a book of postage stamps that still had a dozen or so left. They became sort of my “lucky stamps” that were only for certain letters. I also get pens and lighters exclusively by finding ones that still work on the ground. (As I already mentioned in my comment on the disposable pens article.) And just last week my permanent marker stopped working, then a few days later I found a new one on the shoulder of a rural road far from any houses. Strange, right?