The Wallet Code

Everyone taxis in Shanghai.

They're plentiful at any hour, quick, direct, and affordable. A ride on the Metro costs less, but also brings you mighty close to many strangers and cheats you of the view that matches your travel. Taxiing lets you ride in relative comfort, getting to know the city and its twists and turns as you go. Without children, a taxi is the preferred way to get around town.

And everyone has left their wallet in a taxi, at least once.

Many people have amazing stories. One woman was dropped at a school for a meeting. She didn't even realize her wallet was gone, and went straight inside and to her conference room. The cab driver returned with her wallet, peeked into the windows, and found his way into the room where she sat.

We took a family outing via taxi on Saturday night. These are always fraught with difficulty, and this evening was no different. Both girls were screaming, rolling all over the seats, falling out the doors and altogether ready to be rid of the taxi by the time we reached our destination. We quickly fell out the doors, paid the driver and ran into the house where we met our church group for a potluck dinner.

Within 5 minutes, Dave ran past me saying We've got a problem. Then he disappeared for about 20 minutes.

I've advised him never to do this again, as my imagination went wild with these 4 words.

As you've all imagined, Dave set his wallet on top of the taxi to pay the driver. He never removed it. He walked up and down the roads outside the home, and then enlisted the help of our host to walk the roads again. Coming up short, they sat down to dinner. We discussed the implications of losing his driver's license and how much money was in the wallet.

The doorbell rang.

The taxi driver found the wallet and had driven back to return it. He asked no reward. Only pilfered the cash inside the wallet before ringing the bell.

Apparently, this is the code. Taxi drivers always do their very best to return anything of value left in their car. Just don't expect any spending money upon your receipt.