‘It’s Like Spotting a Snow Leopard Across a Canyon in the Himalayas’

There is no right way to do a wrong thing. What would you teach your children to do ethically. What did your parents teach you to do ethically. It isn't the $5.50 or maybe it is to someone who needs the $5.50. Put the $5.50 in an envelope, hand your neighbor the $5.50 and tell her you are thankful she got her card back easily. Take the high road. Last, what if the shoe was on the other foot.

I can't help telling you that I did see a cougar once (puma, mountain lion) across the canyon in Arizona through my telescope when I was watching a hawk sitting on a tree. It was French Joe Canyon I believe. A very great thrill for me. The cougar was climbing on a tree behind my hawk.

Roy - Offer to pay. I'd bet $5.50 that she says no thanks.

Roy -- instead of handing over the $5.50 in cash, I'd just pick up a $5.50 card and leave it with her.

The MetroCard thing is awkward, since the usage was not mentioned immediately upon handing the card over. That was the time to do so — even though asking the owner whether the money should be reimbursed would (rudely) put her on the spot to say no (or look like a miser). If I had found and used a charged-up card (to be honest, I would not have used it after seeing how much was on it, but that’s me), I would have handed the card back to the owner with a prepaid coffee card, or something else worth the six bucks I’d spent.

Enjoying these anecdotes of New Yorkers who all have something to bring to the table and brighten one's spirits. Singular. Recently 'The Snow Leopard' came to mind and how the author, Peter Matthiessen, believed that our role was to pull each other through this mysterious existence of ours. Earlier was revisiting 'The Little Prince' by St. Exupery, which he wrote in memory of his childhood friend. One of the great highlights of living in Manhattan was sitting in an office in the Morgan Library, where the curator showed me the author's original manuscript - a gift for Valentine's Day. Gene Borio was able to make somebody smile; a stranger on the subway; somebody who looked sad, and this is no small deed when shared. But perhaps it is Allen, aptly named 'Share', who summed it up best, and this New Yorker joins in thanking all the thoughtful people in The Metropolitan Diary for giving us some bright lights in the spirit of New York, the City which never sleeps.

Mr. Borio, you veered a little out of your way to give a fellow New Yorker a needed boost. That gave me a needed boost after the events of the past two days. Mr. Wiggins, your entry sparked a happy memory of my own about my favorite skyscraper. I was standing on the northwest corner of 43rd and Fifth gazing up at the Chrysler building as darkness was settling in about 4:45 on a December afternoon. Just as I wondered to myself when the lights would go on, that gorgeous, iconic tower lit up. It was magical. Mr. Selover, Dvorak did indeed love pigeons—as well as railway trains—and he understood, perhaps better than any other composer, the grammar of melody. Right now I am listening to his lovely Serendade for Strings, which he composed in a mere two weeks. That corps de ballet in Times Square you refer to could dance wonderfully to that exceedingly balletic music as well as to any number of others among the scores of Dvorak’s enchanting melodies. Mr. Friedman, you, Steve, Eddie, and Max are all good people who provided friendly help and needed assistance, and your entry brightened this Monday with its reminder of kindness readily extended. And Mr. Martin, your conscience, which led you to seek and find your neighbor Catherine in the first place, will probably also lead you to at least offer to reimburse her. Perhaps it already has? In any case, all of your Diary entries will help this Native New Yorker sleep better tonight. Thank you! Allen

Roy, One word: Karma. Pay her the $5.50...

Amazing that someone that knows nothing about cars would know that one shop is much less expensive without getting a estimate from the supposedly more expensive garage.

Roy: You should offer to pay. That is the right thing to do.

Roy, you don't have to pay back that $5.50 at all. It's not simply a matter of saying that most people would have found the card and been alright with keeping it for themselves. Or maybe it is simply that. The owner of that card is probably so grateful that you made this effort to find her that the $5.50 could be seen by her (and me) as a reward. I would be proud of myself for locating her and not distressed over the "reward".

It's nice to see everybody writing and commenting again. I have found something to appreciate about the weekly format: although life seems to be speeding past more quickly than ever for me, the wait between columns makes the weeks seem really long. Roy, thank you for your story. I feel that it would be in keeping with your character to reimburse your neighbor for the trip.

Roy: Only someone with humanitarian instincts would have gone to the trouble of finding the card's rightful owner. If you pay Catherine the $5.50 today, I'm sure you sleep soundly tonight.

Yes Roy you should pay the $5.50. The card was not yours, there was money on it and You used it. pay the lady.