Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News

~ John W. Howell

Today’s good news story comes from the Good News Network. With the exception of fixing the typos, here is the story in its entirety.

Senior With No Car Walks to Work–But After She Found $15k and Returned it She Does Now

By

Andy Corbley

 

Strangers around the country are rewarding a Michigan woman for her honesty after turning in nearly $15,000 cash to the police that she found at a gas station.

It turned out to be the contributions of guests to a pair of newlyweds, who were more than overwhelmed by her integrity.

65-year-old Dianne Gordon has been walking 2.7 miles to and from her job behind a deli counter every day since her Jeep broke down, and she didn’t have enough money to fix it. One day she decided to stop at a gas station for a snack and noticed a plastic bag. Inside there was a lot of money; turning it around, there were some greeting cards and a lot more money.

Just doing what she “was taught to do,” the grandmother of two called the police, who sent an officer to take custody of the sum.

Gordon could have walked into any dealership in the state and driven something off the lot that day, but knew because the money wasn’t hers, it wasn’t correct to take it.

“If it doesn’t belong to you, you don’t keep it,” she told the Washington Post. “I didn’t do anything special. All I did was return something that didn’t belong to me.”

Police Chief Dan Keller of the White Lake Township Police Department telephoned Gordon later that day to tell her they had used the information on the cards inside the bag to track down the owners. The happy couple was “overwhelmed” by Gordon’s honesty, as was Keller’s wife Stacy Connell.

“As a police officer’s wife, I typically hear the bad things, so this was obviously heartwarming,” said Connell. “I was hoping we could help her get a car since she could have walked into any dealership and used that money.”

Connell set up a GoFundMe, and in just 6 days, it raised four times as much money from people wanting to reward Gordon’s act of selflessness as she had found in the sealed bag that morning.

Grateful for the money and the words of encouragement from all the contributors, who celebrated with comments like “there are still good people in the world,” Gordon said she was stunned by the outpouring of generosity, which at the time of publishing, raised $82,000 and then closed.

On February 8th, Friends of Dianne wrote: “Dianne officially signed for her new Jeep Compass yesterday at Szott M-59 in White Lake Township. Along with the new car, she also got an extended warranty, maintenance, insurance, and plates/tabs.”

There was also an inspection done at her home to evaluate some much-needed repairs that will be done very soon.

The good news here is a beautiful story that shows, more often than not, honesty pays. Today’s JohnKu talks about honesty. I hope you have a wonderful weekend

Choices by John W. Howell © 2023

A choice to do right,

Or to select the wrong way . . .

Do we think it out?

 

90 thoughts on “Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News”

  1. Beautiful story, John, thank you for sharing it with us. The quiet majority have hearts of gold, often burdened by life’s challenges. You’ve reminded us of this truth and brightened the day. ❤️

    Liked by 2 people

    1. There is a big batch of those in the middle of the rabid left and right who are looking for a better way. I hope a leader rises up to take advantage of that desire. Glad you liked it Gwen.

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  11. What a great story, John. It would have been so easy for her to walk away with the money and never say a word. It is good to see how everyone rewarded her for her honesty. Makes me feel good about humanity.

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  12. It is always seems to be that those who need, give more. In this case, returning something not theirs. What a breath of fresh air to see such honesty. And how beautiful that it ended up being such a gift to her. Lovely story, John.
    Love your Johnku!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Not to take anything away from the good choice this grandma made, but isn’t it sad that this kind of story makes honesty seem like the exception rather than the rule? (Perhaps I’m just being curmudgeonly??)

    Liked by 2 people

  17. What a great story, John:) I’m so glad her honesty was rewarded. Our little town has a lot of this honesty still left. Gives you hope.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. What a great story. On a much smaller scale, I once found a $100.00 bill by a construction site. I took it to the site trailer and gave it to the foreman. He said, “Come back in a week, if no one mentioned having lost a $100.00 bill, you can have it for your honesty.” I just thought some poor fellow may have dropped it and would come looking for it. I returned in a week and he gave me the money as no one mentioned losing it. So I bought a pair of shoes I had been eyeing and wore them for years. Honesty does pay!

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Jesus, this is such a beautiful story, Boss. Dianne deserves all the love she has been getting because it’s coming people who are yearning for kindness and honesty in this world. And this woman, she done provides.

    Great Friday piece!

    Liked by 1 person

  24. I love this story. I believe most people would have done the same thing, but the fact that she didn’t have a car compounds the acts of kindness. This week Amazon delivered a package to my P.O. Box, not my home. It was huge and heavy. When I was at the counter to pick it up, I asked if it could be delivered to my home. The kind postal worker asked the Postmaster. He asked for my address, and 20 minutes later he was at my door in a USPS truck. He even brought it in the house. There are so many good people. Keep your Friday stories coming, John.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I didn’t know Amazon delivered to PO boxes. That was very nice of the postal department since they didn’t get any revenue. Glad to hear that kindness still exists. Yes Friday Good News is now a regular feature.

      Liked by 1 person

  26. That was such a blessing for her and others to read and hear about! As others mentioned, too often others will take the money and look the other way. Her heart shone true and so others were inspired by her. Such a great, great story! Thanks for sharing, John!

    Liked by 1 person

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