My First Clay Shirky Moment!

I work at the Muddy Cup in Albany, NY, which has become the lost and found for the city. Customers stop in, grab a coffee, and go. However, the regulars sit and stay all day, whether they bought something or not. A fair few things get left here each day, such as wallets, glasses, and phones.

Today I had a customer, one of my regulars; return a phone he found in the seat of one of our sofas. Quite often what happens when a phone is left behind, is one of our customers, or random hobos who use our bathroom, take it. They either sell it or use if for themselves. But today, this fine gentleman decided to return it.

I took the phone, which happened to be a very nice one at that, and started looking through for some numbers that would help in locating the owner, such as Mom, Dad, or Home. Unfortunately, the owner of the phone does not refer to his or her parents as Mom or Dad, rather Steve and Libby, but to the untrained eye, I was lost.

I started looking through her text messages for someone that seemed as if she stayed in contact with regularly. I found someone, texted them, but then kept reading. I know, very naughty, but there is something seriously gratifying about looking into someone else’s life.

I found that the owner was in fact a she, as she is having boyfriend problems. I found that she just lost a dear friend, which was very unfortunate. I even found that she enjoys watching the program LOST, just as much as I do!

Creepily enough, I even had a quick glance through her photos. Yes, shame on me. But for some reason I was intrigued. I felt like I was doing something naughty but couldn’t get caught. I had the power of returning the phone. If she didn’t like the fact I was snooping, I didn’t have to return it.

I eventually got a response from Sally. She told me to call Steve and told me this was her father.

Called Steve. He didn’t seem as grateful as I had hoped. After reading Clay Shirky’s story about the lost/stolen phone, I thought this person may even offer a cash reward!

Steve simply replied with, “what time you open ‘til?”

Not the words of someone who is thankful.

So I wait now, to meet the face of the lost phone.

Or should I pass it on to my housemate Dana who is in desperate need for a phone? If Steve had sounded more pleased, I think I would have felt more gratified by returning the phone and issuing a good deed. However, now I feel spiteful.

What would you do?