Oregon man almost recycles $23,000
In 2019, a man from Ashland lost $23,000. This was his life savings. It was all the money he had saved.
The man had the cash in a shoe box. He accidentally threw the box into the recycling bin. He realized his mistake later that day, but the recycling bin was empty. A truck had already picked up the materials and taken everything to a facility in Humboldt County, California — 200 miles away.
The man was in shock. He called the recycling company. A manager said it was probably too late. Workers had already emptied the truck. They had almost finished their work.
“We take quite a bit of material every day. So the odds of finding that are not much better than a needle in a haystack,” said the manager.
The manager told the workers to look for the box anyway. However, the man did not have much hope.
“But then the box showed up and came down the sorting line and we were all excited to see it,” said the manager.
Almost all the money was still there. Only $320 was lost. The company returned the money to the man, who was probably very happy.
-This story was first published in ESOL News Oregon August 10, 2019.
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Discuss
- Have you ever made a big mistake like the man in the story? What happened? Did your story have a happy ending? Explain.
- Did you ever help someone find something that they had lost? How did you feel? When you do something to really help someone, we call that “saving the day.” Tell about the time you saved the day.
- The manager said it was unlikely that they would find the man’s money. It was so unlikely that it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Can you think of a situation from your own life when something was very unlikely but worked out in the end?
- Do you think it was smart for the man to have $23,000 in cash in a shoebox? Why or why not?
Write
- Have you heard of the expression “No good deed goes unpunished”? In a way, the man in the story was trying to do a good deed by recycling an old box. However, his good action of recycling had a bad consequence. This is a good reminder that most things in life have good and bad within them. Can you think of an example from your own life or from a movie you have watched or book you have read that also illustrates this expression?
- What lesson do you think the man learned from his big mistake? How can he make sure it doesn’t happen again?
- The man, the recycling company manager, and the recycling company workers all had to trust each other in this story. In the end, they all worked together to help save the man’s money. Think about a time when you helped someone who didn’t have a lot of hope. What was the problem? How did you help? Use details and examples to help us understand.
- The man saved $23,000 in a shoebox. It’s a good idea to save some of your money if you are able to. There is an expression about saving money: “Save it for a rainy day.” This means that you have some money saved for unexpected expenses or emergencies. How do you save for a rainy day? How do you manage your money to make sure that you have a little extra in case you need it?
Sources
KPIX CBS SF Bay Area. “Man Accidentally Trashes Shoebox Containing His Life Savings.” Www.youtube.com, 3 Aug. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEmqGSSCC9g.
Bordas, Alexandria. “Man ‘recycles’ $23,000 in Cash, Gets It Back from North Coast Facility.” Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 5 Aug. 2019, www.pressdemocrat.com/news/9861675-181/oregon-man-reunited-with-23000?sba=AAS. Accessed 10 Aug. 2019.
The Associated Press. “Oregon Man Reunites with $23K Accidentally Tossed out with the Recycling.” Oregonlive.Com, oregonlive.com, 5 Aug. 2019, www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/08/oregon-man-reunites-with-23k-accidentally-tossed-out-with-the-recycling.html. Accessed 10 Aug. 2019.
Photo by Karolina Grabowska: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-gift-on-money-bills-5942585/
