Reflections on "Excuse Me, Is This Your Mobile Phone?"

To the Reader's Digest Editor:

I read your article "Excuse Me, Is This Your Mobile Phone?" with great interest. Recently I had the privilege to return something to a young man while I was on my first visit to Paris.

While admiring the Eiffel Tower from across the Seine, I saw a young Middle Eastern man and his friend sit down on the green grass 20 meters from me. Something slipped from his back pocket when he took out his wallet, but I didn't know what it was. As the young man sat chatting to his friend, I kept hoping he would notice it soon, but he didn't. When he got up to leave, I became anxious and told my Dad to go after him.

Running after him, my Dad found EUR$25 on the ground and returned it to him. He was very happy and thanked us before becoming lost in the crowd of tourists.

The reason I had to call my Dad was because I have muscular dystrophy and I couldn't walk. I'm glad he was there to help me do what I could not otherwise do myself.

I remember the incident with pride, because even though I was a stranger in a strange land, I knew I had done the right thing. After all, what reasons do we have, really, to not be kind to others? Everyone should try his or her best to help someone in need. Because from my experience, sooner or later we're all be in need of help.

Elaine