The tale of two wallets

Published 1:30 am Friday, February 27, 2026

A couple of months ago my husband lost his wallet. We had been shopping in Olympia: Costco, Winco, Trader Joe’s and US Chef.

But before I get started with the actual story, let me clarify that the Barkstrom family absolutely supports local businesses for most of our shopping — Safeway, Walmart, Market Place, Grocery Outlet, Dennis Company, Home Depot, etc. — but every couple of months we head to Olympia for a “let’s-get-out-of-the house-and-go-for-a-drive” day. We pick up some of our favorite tasty treats: rotisserie chicken at Costco, my favorite brand of powdered chai mix at US Chef, large jars of Mezzetta’s pickled cauliflower at Winco and the oh-so-wonderful gluten-free aisle at Trader Joe’s where I pick up an assortment of breads, cookies, pasta and muffins.

Now, as Paul Harvey would say, “The Rest of the Story.”

It wasn’t until we got home and unloaded the car that we realized that Mike could not find his wallet. We looked all over the inside of the car — front seat, back seat, the storage area in the back; then checked the garage floor a couple of times, the path into the kitchen and again (this time with a couple of flashlights) searched the car — this time looking under and between the seats and under the floor mats. Nothing. We finally accepted the reality that the wallet was gone and was probably somewhere in Olympia. We called all the places we had shopped at to see if anyone had turned in a wallet, but no such luck.

Back in the house we tried to assemble a list of everything that was in his wallet: quite a bit of cash, his driver’s license, a credit card, a debit card, his VA identification, his Special Forces membership card, our USAA insurance ID card, a list of his medications.

Then we started making phone calls to cancel the charge cards and tried to figure out how to apply for new identification cards for everything else.

It took week or two but eventually Mike was able to replace almost everything. He’s still waiting for his Special Forces card but they’ve assured him that it’s on the way.

A couple of weeks later, a Washington State Trooper knocked on the front door and asked Mike if he had misplaced his wallet. When Mike replied “yes” the officer said he had pulled over a vehicle that was travelling on the highway between Central Park and Aberdeen and as he was walking back to his vehicle he saw a small white triangle of paper in the gravel. He picked it up and noticed Mike’s name on it. He took some time to look along the shoulder to see if there were any more cards along the shoulder but didn’t see any others. So he drove to our house to return the card to the rightful owner. The trooper said it was very likely someone found the wallet in Olympia, took the cash and as they as they were driving to the coast, they rolled down the car window and pitched all the paperwork out the window one piece at a time. It happens quite often, he said.

After the trooper left, Mike and I talked about what a hassle it was to replace everything that was in his wallet. We brainstormed that maybe we should leave a note in the wallet that said “If you find my wallet, feel free to take all the cash, but please leave the wallet in a location where it will be found and returned to me. Again, keep the money, but please return the wallet and paperwork inside.”

Then, wouldn’t you know it, about a month later, I lost my wallet. I noticed it was gone when I tried to pay for my groceries at Safeway. Apologizing to the checker for not being able to pay, I left my groceries and re-traced my steps throughout the store (twice) but it was gone. No one had turned in a wallet so the clerk suggested I check on it again in the morning.

So for the second time in less than a month, Mike and I sat down to make a list: driver’s license, Medicare card, supplemental insurance card, pacemaker info card, dental insurance card, VA spouse ID, photos, and of course, some cash.

Then very disheartened, I decided it wouldn’t do me any good to stress about it all night. We’d take care of it in the morning. And while I was getting ready for bed, Mike called Safeway again. And I’ll be darned, someone had turned in my wallet with everything still in it.

Hallelujah, what a relief.

I was hoping Safeway would be able to tell me who found my wallet so I could thank them but the woman behind the service desk wasn’t there when the wallet was turned in.

So if the retuner of my wallet happens to read my column I want you to know I am very thankful, not only to get my wallet and its contents back but you helped restore my faith in the human race.

Karen Barkstrom is the editorial assistant for The Daily World. She can be reached at 360-537-3925 or karen.barkstrom@thedailyworld.com.