It Once Was Lost...

AT TIMES IN MY LIFE, I feel it is important to give back to the community in which I live. At other times, gosh, I really crave that Abercrombie & Fitch blue and green plaid shirt that I lost in January. One day last week, I was able to combine both of these desires.

The logical place to find the long-lost shirt was, of course, the lost and found. But where to begin? I discovered that the lost and found system at Harvard can be a more complicated network than the library system. In addition to the Harvard Police station's L&F, most University offices, libraries and buildings have a lost and found department, shelf or box of their own.

My first stop on the quest for the lost: the bowels of the Science Center. Tucked inside the prep room of the Science Center, down the hall that boasts "A Collection of Hysterical Scientific Instruments," lies the Holy Grail of things left behind. I was overwhelmed by three or four treasure chests filled with clothing, notebooks, and other valuables.

According to the inhabitants of the prep room, guardians of the lost treasures, when things they find are extremely valuable, they try to return them to the losers as quickly as possible. The rest lies waiting to be retrieved. I cannot reveal the contents of the lost and found, but, if you've lost a debate trophy or a wheelchair, give me a call.

Unfortunately, I was unable to locate my green and blue plaid shirt, It was then that I realized if I couldn't solve and riddles of my own lost past, at least I Might be able to make someone else's day a little bit brighter. Intent on providing a valuable community service (can I put this on my resume?), I rummaged through the boxes, looking for items with names on them. I traveled to other lost and founds, similarly digging through items, then searching for owners. My search complete, I would award these lost and found "prizes," sans Ed McMahon and the Prize Patrol:

Found: One grey Champion" sweatshirt

Owner Daniel Cohen, '97

Initial Reaction: "Oh my God." I, myself, cried and offered Cohen a hug.

When Lost: Last December

Story Behind the Sweatshirt: I" don't know; I just lost it. I think I was seeing the Immediate Gratification Players at the Science Center. I must have left it there."

Interesting Lost and Found Stories:

Dan: "A of stuff gets lost in the prep room. A lot of coats and things; it's really amazing. Some guy lost a lease form, once."

Me: "How do you know this?"

Dan: "I work in the prep room."

Me: "Yikes. Ironic, that you, who passes that lost and found, perhaps your very sweatshirt, every day for five months has failed to notice it."

Dan: "My mom would be very unhappy with me."

Found: One letter, return address from Singapore

Owner: Megumi Harada '96

Initial Reaction: "Oh, wow. OK."

When Lost: "A long, long time ago."

Story Behind the Letter: "It's from a good friend of mine. She is an aspiring filmmaker and she is from Singapore. She's about 20, and she's going to film school in England. We started talking over e-mail, and she is absolutely amazing. We just got to be really, really good friends. She is a nerd and so am I. She's just brilliant."

Any Notes:

Megumi: "I'll write to her now. I wrote to her before, but it's a good opportunity to write her again. Maybe it's a message."

Me:Crying "Congratulations. You are a winner."

Found: One Vendacard, value $2.80

Owner: Rebecca Glass '98

Initial Reaction: "Cool."

When Lost: "I have no idea. I've lost so many Vendacards."

Story Behind the Card: "I never remember losing copy cards. I always leave them in the machine and forget them. It could have been when I was photocopying something for my seminar, though. I know I lost a card then."

Any Notes:

Me: "You didn't also lose a wheelchair, did you?"

Rebecca: "Huh?"

Me: "You haven't seen my Abercrombie and Fitch shirt?"

Rebecca: "Sorry. Keep trying."