a long story short
no good deed goes unpunished
said my #1 boss
after
his brother asked me
to
locate the owner of a mobile
his
cousin
found
outside
on the street
where he lives in soho
sure i'll do it
the short version is
the owner eventually called the phone
he would pick it up from security in the lobby
but
during our last call his phone minutes ran out
the call dropped
i called him back using the number on the caller list
got his home address
mailed it off wednesday afternoon
initially searching the phone for leads
the names in his address book
i opined
might he be a terrorist
nah
i decided
just a poor immigrant
from a third world country
who lost his ancient flip phone
i asked his address
he said
2465 Valentine Avenue
i said
in the bronx
he said
yes
i smiled to myself
my grandparents
lived on
valentine avenue
in the bronx
as
immigrants
too
