AN HONEST man has restored the faith of a New York-based Barbadian woman in her home country.
Ruth Foster was facing a bleak visit home after discovering her wallet missing. She and her husband Roman were on the island during one of their frequent trips when they realised her wallet was nowhere to be found.
“We arrived on JetBlue tired and hungry and went to The Village Bar in Lemon Arbour, St John and had food there. I took my wallet with me to pay for more drinks and I thought I dropped it back in my bag. It was only the next morning I realised it was gone,” she said.
Ruth said the wallet contained identification documents, bank cards and a “few hundred” United States dollars but the wallet itself was the biggest loss.
“That wallet was a gift from my husband and has sentimental value – it really means a lot to me so I started praying and honestly, I got a little depressed,” she said.
Ruth said they contacted the restaurant but to no avail. However, Roman said good news soon came.
“Keisha, the young lady who served us, told my wife that no wallet had been turned in and took our contact information in case she heard something.
“About an hour later, Keisha called to tell us that a customer named Ian Duncan, who happened to be visiting from Jamaica on business, found a wallet on a chair located in the corner where we had sat the day before,” he said.
When contacted, bar assistant Keisha Graham said her only thought was reuniting the wallet with its owner, especially with how worried Ruth was.
“A gentleman pulled out a chair and went to sit down and saw the wallet. He brought it in to me and when I opened it, I saw the money and called her back immediately,” she said.
Graham said there was no temptation to take any of the money as “it is not mine and I am not that type of person”.
When the couple arrived, they were surprised and greatly relieved to see nothing was missing from the wallet.
“This is what makes the story special, every document and every dollar was in the wallet untouched,” said Roman.
The couple thanked Duncan, who said he required no reward, although they insisted on buying him a drink. Ruth said she would have been devastated if the wallet was not returned.
“It would have been a big loss and would have definitely dampened the trip. Instead, I feel good about my island and proud to say there is still a place in the world with honest people.
“I was home to attend to a legal matter which could have gone any way and the uncertainty was stressful. Recovering my wallet was a sure sign that my prayers were being heard and that things were going to work out. Thank God and the good people he used to answer my prayers,” she said.
The couple wished to publicly thank Graham, Duncan and the staff at The Village Bar Restaurant “for their help, honesty and sincerity.”
“[This is] A great experience for all Barbadians to feel good about as the nation celebrates its 50th anniversary and we hope that the NATION will see it fit to print this story.” (CA)
