Wooo Hooo!

So last Thursday night I was in the arcade with my daughter essentially exploring how many tickets we could acquire so we could "purchase" some piece of shit that I could probably buy for a quarter. I didn't stop me from firing quarter token after quarter token into machines because, well, I'm competitive like that. I guess skee ball, Whack-A-Mole and the bulldozer coin pusher games are more about the conquest.

Anyway, the Little One climbs onto this motor cycle racer game that turns when you lean simulating the effect of really riding a motorcycle. Its costs 75 cents but since she was having a blast in "demo" mode I let her go with that to see if she'd even notice. Not once did she ask me to put money into it, although I gladly would have.

As she's moto-crossing across some ridiculous racetrack at upwards of 160 miles per hour I noticed a twenty dollar bill on the floor. I glanced around and there was nobody near so I stooped to pick it up and found there were actually three twenties folded over a single.

My first instinct was to turn it in since I'm thinking its probably some poor kid's money, but then I wonder whether the employees would just split it up at the end of the night. Or one would keep it for himself.

So I decided best course of action was to keep an eye out for anyone who seems to be looking around the floor and then I'd ask if they lost something and if they said money and had an amount close to that amount I'd give it to them. I don't need $60 THAT badly and I feel bad for anybody losing money. Upon reflection I could have asked around but honestly I didn't think of it at the time.

As we're hanging around, jumping from game to game, I don't notice anybody who seemed to be looking for anything and the place wasn't all that crowded to begin with.

When we finished up a game of air hockey (I won! I'll be damned if a 5-year-old will be me! I did let it stay close though since she kept yelling "not so hard daddy!") a thought hit my head; I had about $60 in my pocket after I spent $5 on tokens. After I pulled the pile of tickets out of my pocket I found my original money was missing!

Apparently, I had found my own fucking money!!!! Imagine if I turned it in and then had to go claim my own damn money??

***

p.s. Kudos to the tall kid in sunglasses that worked there. My daughter selected a kitty face with our 67 tickets but the stupid elastic was way too short and it broke when she stretched it across her not-so-gargantuan head. She got upset, of course, because she really wanted the kitty mask and I tried to explain to her it wasn't going to work but kids that age are persistent. After a time, he offered her some blow-up bouncy thing that costs 200 tickets because he felt bad for her and she really dug it.

Good karma dude! And good job! Thanks a bunch!