How I saved a whole Mexican Village

This past Monday, Greg and I were in Colorado. However, someone in Mexico with my debit card number spent a little over $1,600 of our money in some sort of shopping spree.

We saw the first charge Sunday morning. It was only $187 at that point, and we called the banks 24/7 hotline which was, inexplicably, not working. So we kept trying throughout the day, and it wasn’t until Monday morning that we were able to cancel the card number. By that time, the damage had been done.

Things are sorted out now, a day off of work to fill out police reports, bank papers and the like and our money is being returned. Not from the person of course, they got away with it, but from our bank. Thankfully we were covered for this type of problem.

So I would like to rationalize this: My co-worker, Joe, and I were discussing this.

“You know,” I said, “I would really like to think that this was some person who desperately needed the money.”

“Yah,” Said Joe “Someone with 8 or so very sick kids who were dying and badly needed medical care he couldn’t afford, so he used your card.”

“Right,” Says I. “except I think it was some restaurant that this person used my card at.”

“So maybe they were some hungry sick kids.”

“A $346 food bill in Mexico points to either some serious food consumption, or a ritzy restaurant.” I pointed out. “Also, there were some clothing stores with a couple hundred dollar charges to each of them.”

Joe digested this for a second; “I got it! The whole village was hungry, their clothes were threadbare, and no one knew what to do. No one had the money to afford clothes or food, and people were going to die. This person, with your card number in hand, knew what he had to do. He had to take the whole village out to a few big dinners, then, he had to buy them all clothes. Now, a village is safe thanks to your money.”

I think I like this explanation over the rational alternative. It is rather heroic and has a purpose. “How I saved a whole Mexican Village” seemed an appropriate title, and it does end happily. Since we got back our money, and a village was clothed and fed, no one was really hurt – right?