Nothing like a Wednesday morning mugging on the crosstown 79 bus to get your day started off right!! Final day of dress rehearsal for La Boheme, and I still can't believe I managed to make it to rehearsal on time AND to retrieve le wallet (sans $300 in cash, unfortunately, but still with the $400 in checks.... memo to self: deposit that tutoring money asap in the future. Also, don't endorse your checks until right when you put them in the ATM, otherwise someone else can take them and use them).
After I realized my wallet was gone, I raced after the bus (at a healthy ten block sprint) to get its number, then managed to flag down a bus dispatcher and found - to my pleasant surprise - that the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) employees are actually really kind and obliging! One of the bus drivers got me water and napkins (I had a crazy cry + hiccup + make up running = altogether unattractive look going for me) and the other one managed to find the bus in the depot and send guys out to search it.
After what seemed like an eternity of waiting on the receiving end of a slightly crackling walkie-talkie, some dude named Elias asked me my full name and said that they had found my wallet!! It was a Met Opera Miracle!
The superintendent in charge of Manhattan transport had heard that I was crying over the radio I guess, and so he came to drive me down to the depot near Times Square himself. Beyond that, he even gave me a lift back to the Met Opera, and I still can't believe I managed to get my wallet back, make a statement, get into costume, and get on stage before rehearsal started.
Who says there aren't nice people in New York? Cheers to you, Ronnie! And who knew that MTA employees could be so helpful and generous!
In summary:
Learning the hard lesson to deposit cash money as soon as you get it: minus $300...
New found affection for the MTA and renewed hope for humanity: priceless
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