Left behind

I am constantly amazed at the number and variety of items people leave behind in the library. We currently have these items in our lost and found: hats, sunglasses, a sweatshirt, keys (car keys, house keys, you name it, we've got it), cell phones, chargers, CD-ROMs, a purse, several wallets, credit cards, ID cards of various types, photographs, stuffed animals, thumb drives, electrical cords, earrings, a necklace, notepads, folders, binders, baby bottles, a blanket, a cane, and a small bottle of prescription nitroglycerin (!).

How is it that so few people come back in looking for their stuff? We try to contact people if we find a name on something but that's usually not the case. Occasionally someone will come in and claim something but for the most part it just sits in the box for months until it gets so full that we have to go through it and get rid of the old stuff. Anything usable goes to the thrift store, everything else just gets chucked.

But how far can people get without their keys, for heaven's sake? And don't they miss their cell phone? Is it that easy to get a new one?

I will never understand people as long as I live.