It Wouldn't Happen Here

"In the five months since the disaster struck, people have turned in thousands of wallets found in the debris, containing $48 million in cash.

More than 5,700 safes that washed ashore along Japan's tsunami-ravaged coast have also been hauled to police centers by volunteers and search and rescue crews. Inside those safes officials found $30 million in cash. One safe alone, contained the equivalent of $1 million.

The National Police Agency says nearly all the valuables found in the three hardest hit prefectures, have been returned to their owners."


The above quote is from a Japanese newspaper. I'm sad that I know this would never happen in the US. I think also of the reputed million [or is it billions?] of dollar in paper money that were said to have disappeared in Iraq just after our invasion there.

Yes, I've heard some anecdotal stores of lost wallets being returned to people I know, but these true stories were related with surprise, awe and almost unbelieving gratitude. I read no such stories after hurricane Katrina or after the terrible tornadoes last spring. What about the safes in Joplin, MO?