Chicago, IL - Forty-year-old Devon Smith wasn’t expecting to become an overnight symbol of honesty and ethics when he strolled through a local neighborhood and discovered an unmarked bag lying on the sidewalk.
Just a few of the shoes Smith mourns.
“I picked it up and tried to decide whether or not to open it,” he said, “but then I realized I had no choice. I mean, it could have been full of baby kittens or something.”
When Smith got the bag home and dumped its contents onto his kitchen table, however, there were no cute cuddly animals inside. Instead, he discovered a bevy of old shoes, some ripped or covered in mud and dog poo.
“It was the best day of my life,” Smith said. “I figured the bag would contain something really boring and useless, like money, but instead I found this great shoe collection. There was a totally rad pair of Velcro® strap sneakers from the late 80s that would have looked great on my mantle.”
Even through his euphoria, Smith’s solid, Midwestern upbringing told him what he had to do. “I was really tempted to keep them,” he admitted, “but I knew I had to turn them over to the police. I mean, somebody probably spent years amassing these shoes. I couldn’t just keep them for my own personal enjoyment.”
Ever since his selfless act, Smith has received countless emails and Twitter responses, congratulating him on his honesty and also referencing the fact that he is an idiot, although a scrupulous one.
Although touched by the community response, Smith still misses the shoes. “I was kind of hoping the police would give me some kind of reward for turning them in,” Smith said. “I really want those sneakers.”
