[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 71 (Thursday, June 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                           GOOD NEWS AMERICA

                                 ______


                       HON. THOMAS J. BARLOW III

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 9, 1994

  Mr. BARLOW. Mr. Speaker, everyday it seems we wake up to bad news 
about our society. Violent and petty crimes are reported in all the 
media. In our Nation's Capital we see stories that put Washington, DC, 
and its surrounding communities and suburbs in a bad light. But every 
so often, the press takes it heart to report good news.
  I want to share with my colleagues in the House an article that 
appeared in the April 9, 1994, edition of the Mayfield Messenger. Two 
months ago a group of Girl Scouts from my district traveled to 
Washington to learn about America's history and Government. One of the 
Scouts lost her wallet in downtown Washington. A good samaritan found 
the wallet and returned it to her by contacting her home in Mayfield, 
KY.
  Neighborliness and good actions are carried out every day by good 
people in our society. Working men and women in our country fulfill 
their responsibilities as citizens, day in, day out, to watch out and 
care for each other. Unfortunately, we do not hear their stories 
because they are not sensational.
  Here is some good news for America. There is good news in our 
Nation's Capital. There is good news in America's cities. There is good 
news in the countryside. We treasure America as a nation of good 
people.

            [From the Mayfield (KY) Messenger, Apr. 9, 1994]

    Losing Wallet in Nation's Capital Turns Out To Be a Surprising 
                               Experience

                        (By Julie Agnew Thomas)

       Twelve Girl Scouts work hard and raise money to make the 
     trip of a lifetime, one week in Washington, D.C. It's the 
     first big journey some have ever taken out of their friendly 
     little hometown, and they're a bit apprehensive--after all, 
     the nation's capital isn't exactly famous these days for its 
     hospitality to innocent travelers.
       Not half-way into the trip, on Easter Sunday, one little 
     girl loses all her cash, all her travelers' checks, nearly 
     $300. A catastrophe? It could have been, but for the 
     confidence of her faith and the kindness of a stranger.
       The dozen Scouts of Troop 1476 and their four counselors 
     left Mayfield on March 31 and had been to Gaithersburg, Md., 
     for Sunday dinner and church services. They were on their way 
     back to their Roslyn, Va., motel on the Washington area 
     commuter railroad known as the Metro, and the girls were 
     keeping busy on the long ride by fixing each others' hair.
       Summer Reynolds said that was how she must have lost the 
     pouch hanging around her neck, when she changed seats to work 
     on another girl's hair. It held about $260 in cash and 
     checks, and an identification card with the seventh-grader's 
     name and address. It was all the money she had, despite 
     counselor Carol Covington's admonition not to have all their 
     funds with them at one time.
       ``I was really scared,'' Reynolds said. Covington said the 
     counselors and other Scouts were devastated; the 13-year-old 
     with all the trouble seemed unruffled. ``She said, `It's all 
     right. I've turned it over to God,''' Covington said.
       Reynolds continued, ``I started praying, and I asked the 
     other girls to pray with me.''
       An Alexandria, Va., businessman and his wife were coming 
     home from an afternoon outing in Washington. David Petry said 
     he and Kelli had decided to go into the city ``just for 
     something to do.'' About a minute and a half into the trip, 
     he said he noticed the wallet wedged between a seat and the 
     train's wall, and asked a woman sitting nearby if it was 
     hers.
       When she said no, he picked it up and opened it. Inside he 
     found the money and ID card. The Petrys took the package home 
     and telephoned information to find the Reynoldses that lived 
     in or near Mayfield. They found 10.
       Petry's first call was to Joseph W. Reynolds in Farmington. 
     The man is a minister at Trinity Christian Church in Murray, 
     and had just returned from services there. Petry explained 
     the situation, and Reynolds volunteered to make the rest of 
     the calls trying to locate Summer's parents for the 
     Alexandria man. ``There's still a few honest people in this 
     world,'' he said.
       On his second try, Reynolds found Summer's parents, 
     Mayfield dentist Mack Reynolds and his wife, Sheila. While he 
     was on the line telling them about Petry's find, Covington 
     and Summer turned up on call-waiting to report the wallet 
     missing. ``If the good Lord didn't make that connection, I 
     don't know who did,'' the minister said.
       ``Carol was really happy,'' Summer said. Since the 
     travelers' checks already had been voided, Sheila Reynolds 
     made arrangements to wire her daughter some money, and gave 
     them Petry's telephone number there in Virginia. When they 
     contacted him, he offered to bring the pouch to their hotel 
     on Monday.
       ``It made me feel good,'' Petry said. ``I know what it 
     feels like to be without.'' The 24-year-old said he's left 
     his own wallet in an Alexandria hospital after taking an 
     employee in, and Kelli had lost her purse just shortly after 
     moving to Virginia from Maryland several months ago.

                          ____________________