Faith in Humanity

I am not a religious person, nor would I consider myself very spiritual. In fact, on the surface, I am a pretty skeptical person, especially with those who I do not yet know. I can be reluctant to let newcomers in. Yet deep down, I have this faith in humanity.

In times of crisis, we see people at their best. We also, unfortunately, see people at their worst. Weeks ago, when I was still in NYC contemplating if I should join my mom at her house on Long Island, a few people around me were worried about increased crime in the city. Will people start looting the shuttered shops? Will those who were laid off turn to other means to pay their rent, feed their children, or keep their lights on?

I can’t say this played a big role in my ultimate decision to join my mom, but I will tell you this. Crime in NYC is actually down. And my ‘uber safe’ neighborhood on Long Island? I’ve heard cases of cars being broken into on the quiet suburban streets, and within my first days here, had my own terrifying encounter going to pick-up dinner one night where a man persisted to get into my car WHILE I was in it. It happened. I’m fine. That story is not the point of this post.

Over the last few weeks my mom and I stumbled upon a series from France called A French Village. Over the course of 7 seasons, we get to know the people of Villeneuve, France as they survive the German occupation of the country, and their small village throughout the duration on WWII. We’re currently in the middle of season 3, which takes place in 1942. We’re hooked, even though we know, ultimately, what will happen and how this story ends.

Even still, the show is tantalizing. I can’t help but think that part of the reason for that is how the writers develop these characters. You see the demise of several locals as they sheepishly give way to their occupiers and turn their backs on their neighbors and friends. But you also see the rise of heroes and heroines who risk everything to join the resistance. It’s humanity persisting at its best. You can’t help but cheer for them when they go on their dangerous missions. You breathe a sigh of relief when they succeed; you sit and contemplate ‘why’ when they don’t. But whatever happens, it’s this idea of faith in humanity that keeps you hanging on, coming back for more.

There’s a famous quote from Anne Frank that always sticks in the back of my mind: “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are really good at heart.”

Those hallowing words, decades later, still ring true.

What am I getting at here? Honestly, I do not know. I sat down to write this blog to share a funny anecdote about a lady in Florida on a mission to return a driver’s license to its rightful owner. So, I guess faith in humanity can take on many different meanings. It wears many different hats.

At some point in mid-April I received a notification that I had a message on Facebook. I rarely check my Facebook these days, but curious by the message, I went to take a quick look. I didn’t recognize the name – we weren’t connected as friends and from the first few lines of the message – something about a lost Driver’s License – I automatically assumed it was someone who had been hacked, or was trying to hack me. So, the skeptic in me ignored it and closed out of the site.

A few days later, my birthday rolled around. I received some messages over the course of the day from friends near and far, so headed back to Facebook and something about the message again caught my eye. I clicked on the lady’s profile – one mutual friend. Interesting.

Our mutual friend was a good friend of my sister’s, so I texted her to ask her friend who this person is and if the message was legit. Almost instantaneously my sister wrote back, sharing that the lady who messaged me was a cousin of her friend, but her account had been hacked before, so just ignore it. However, she was going to contact her cousin to ask if she was, indeed, behind this.

Turns out, she was! Here’s what the message said:

Dayna.. I found your expired driver’s license (expired 4/30/17) on Deerfield Beach the other day. Interesting to see when and where you lost it.....like message in a bottle. Message me...

Huh. My ID? In Florida? But I never lost an ID. Ever. It was issued in 2009, and expired in 2017. Did I lose it years ago and just forgot?

Still super skeptical, I wrote to her to find out more. Most importantly, where did she find it?

Then the story gets better. My new Facebook Messenger-pal told me she was doing her daily routine beach walk when she noticed something floating. My ID literally had washed up on the shore. Like a message in a bottle, she was so intrigued and determined to connect and return it to its rightful owner.

She asked a few questions back: Was I ever in Florida at Deerfield Beach?

I was in Florida dozens of times over those year visiting my grandparents and seeing friends. Could it have been dropped then? But I still swear I never lost an ID. Wouldn’t I remember? And also, I never was in Deerfield Beach, although I did spend a lot of time north in Boca and south in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

Then she asked: How far do you think this license traveled?

And that’s when it hit me.

When I moved to the Netherlands, I gave up my US ID in February 2017 in order to get my Dutch ID. If this ID was set to expire in 2017, this would’ve been the only ID I had at the time to give up. It was my current license. Could this have been the ID that was turned over to the Dutch government? It actually had to be…

So how far did this ID travel? Across the Atlantic! Truly incredible.

My new friend insisted on sending the ID back to me. In fact, in our last correspondence, she ended with “I’m sure it has a story to tell...”

And so it does.

Perhaps a bigger story than what I initially intended to share today. Perhaps.