Luck of the Irish?

 

I've done plenty of stupid things in my life, and on Sunday night I added another one to the list. In what can only be described as sheer idiocy on my part, I managed to leave my camera on the train from Paris to Lausanne.

I have no idea how it happened. In fact, I remember doing a double-check as we were leaving and was sure that we had everything. And the best part -- I didn't even notice until the next morning. In what was effectively a moment of clarity, the painful realization set in out of nowhere and was immediately confirmed after a quick search of the apartment.

After a quick assessment of the situation, I ascribed the odds of ever seeing my camera again at around 0%. Had I realized on Sunday night and called the train company immediately, perhaps there would have been a chance. But given the circumstances, I more or less accepted the likely outcome.

Based on feedback from friends and colleagues, my fears were more or less supported. A cynical view of the average human being's moral compass was pretty much par for the course, with one of Emilie's colleagues even admitting that she probably would have kept it (who says that by the way?).

There was one person who held out hope, however -- my dad. His argument was that 95% of people in this world are trustworthy and do the right thing. As long as one of the 5%-ers didn't come across my camera first, I should be in good shape.

***

On Monday morning I filed a claim online with the train company and called the Lost & Found offices at the train stations in both Paris and Lausanne. Then it simply became a waiting game. If the camera was found, I would be notified. If not, no response would be provided.

The one positive was that aside from the photos taken in Paris, I had already backed up the photos from my previous trips. Nonetheless, given the amount of money that I had invested in the camera, and the fact that it was less than three years old, such a positive provided little comfort.

And to add insult to injury, I found an email exchange with my insurance company from a couple years back where I had inquired about supplemental coverage in the event of loss/theft outside of the home. Needless to say, I had ultimately decided that insurance wasn't necessary / worth it. Big mistake.

***

With each day that passed...Monday...Tuesday...I saw the odds of getting my camera back decreasing exponentially. And given that I had calculated the initial likelihood of getting it back at around 0%, I guess that means that as time went by I almost expected to be contacted by the thief himself specifically asking for me to send him the 2nd lense, the battery charger and the user guides / software (which I hadn't taken with me to Paris).

Thus, I have to admit that I was absolutely shocked when I received a form email late Tuesday from the train company indicating that they had found the camera. All I needed to do was come to the office at the Lausanne train station this morning and I could pick it up.

Apparently one of the train employees had noticed the camera while doing a standard search of the train and logged it in as a missing item immediately. The two-day delay was simply due to procedural issues as it had to be processed in a central Lost & Found office in Bern.

***

Talk about lucky, huh? I guess my dad was right and there really are some good people out there. That said, I think I'll go ahead and sign up for the insurance that I passed on before. No need to take any chances in case I'm dependent on someone like Emilie's morally deficient colleague next time...