WHAT is going on today?...

Do you want to hear about the day that was my day? Here it is in a nutshell (and we'll get to that in a minute)...

I had a mason coming over to fix some pointing towards the top of my chimney and needed to hit an ATM for some ducketts to pay the man. Of course, the ATM at work was busted so I took a trip to my bank.

After I got my withdrawal and headed to the front of the bank I found a crisp $100 bill and picked it up. I was going to call the evil voice (wife) to talk me into keeping it but realized my phone was at work. Then I figured that I was probably being recorded by ten different cameras (I hope they got my good side... wait... what good side?) and that karma would get the best of me if I kept it. So I decided to ask for a manager and explain that I had just found this inside their bank.

I was greeted with a smile and look of amazement because anyone else would have kept it... I bet that manager had lunch on me today :(

Don't get me wrong... If I had found that outside, I would have kept it... But I believe in karma. I thought to myself that if I kept it, the mason might tell me I needed a lot more work than originally estimated and would end up paying even more.

I felt good about the situation though because the bank is in a less fortunate neighborhood and if someone does call and say they left the bank and realized they were missing a Benjamin, they might get back their rent money (or Friday night fix). Ain't I an optimist about society?

I went back to work, called my wife and wondered if she would bitch-slap me through the phone; but hey... it wasn't rightfully mine right?

The day goes on and I leave work a little early to come home and pay the mason. What greeted me outside was this little fella. (Cell phone pic... sorry)



And he is LITTLE! About the size of a small chipmunk. And I just couldn't leave him in the street of out parking lot :( So I called up to a fellow employee to come down and check him out. I then called the wife and then the family vet to see if they could direct me to a wildlife helpline. All the while he was crawling on my bag, on my foot, and nibbling at my sneaker.

Of course, when I called that number, they had closed at 4 and would not be back till Monday. So, what to do? I looked in a dumpster and found a small box... scooped up the munchkin and took him to a nearby area with some trees and grass in hopes a bigger squirrel will help him out.

I had my friend go back inside and get a cup with water and some leftover cake to crumble up. While he was doing that I set up his box shelter near the tree. I then looked around and found an orange near a picnic table that I cut in half and left in the box for him.

I noticed another friend walking in the parking lot and called her over to see. We all stood around and the baby actually tried to climb the tree and got up a good 6 feet before perching up to rest.

I then saw an adult squirrel foraging nearby. I circled around to try and get it to go over by the baby as my friends backed away towards the parking lot and over by my car. I then hear the girl that I called over say "Oh my God! I just found $15 over here!"... to which I replied "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

She mentioned that she was going to Foxwoods tomorrow and the money was well needed. Needed or wanted ;) you decide.

At that point I figured there was nothing more to do for the squirrel babe but hope for the best. I had set up a shelter with food and water and sent an adult in its direction. We all went to our cars and on our ways home.

I paid the mason and learned that the chimney was missing a two foot section of flue which caused the heat to destroy the brick from the inside. They replaced the section and fixed the bricks for the price they originally estimated.

Now I have a call in to our oil company for a cleaning and to see if there is any old flue at the base of the chimney that needs to be removed.

I think things happen for a reason... If the ATM was not broken I would not have gone to the bank and found that $100. Someone else may have pocketed it. If I had not left a little early that squirrel may have been splattered by a car leaving the parking area. If I had not called over my friend she would have gotten in her car and not found the $15. So, did these things happen today for a reason bigger than I could imagine? Was someone watching my deeds? Or am I just $115 poorer than I could have been?