Making it right, 24 years later

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/12/2009 (5955 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — When a mysterious caller rang up a camera store in Edmonton two weeks ago, general manager Neil McBain was skeptical.

Wanting a private appointment, the man said little, except that it had to do with the past. But right on schedule — Monday at 10 a.m. — a nicely dressed but tired-looking man entered the shop.

He explained he was a recovering alcoholic wanting to make things right. In 1985, he had come into the McBain Camera store to buy a Pentax MX camera, a Tokina lens and a flash. A salesperson had shown him an equipment bag, slipping in demo gear to illustrate how everything fit together.

When the employee retrieved new equipment for the sale, he forgot all about the demo models. The customer noticed, but didn’t say anything, walking away with much more than he paid for.

“Off he went with his bag,” said McBain.

Twenty-four years later, the man wanted to make amends for nearly $500 worth of camera equipment. Pulling out an envelope, he handed McBain six $100 bills. The extra $100 was what the equipment fetched when sold, which he suggested should go to the charity of McBain’s choice. Touched by the gesture, McBain suggested they put the $500 into the company donation pool for the Edmonton Food Bank and Christmas Bureau, and handed back the extra $100 to buy something nice for Christmas. The pair exchanged Christmas greetings and a hearty handshake.

“It’s just such a nice thing, especially that long after,” McBain said. “It’s hard to imagine he carried that with him all those years.”

— Canwest News Service