Jogger in New York

Urban legend re-told by Andrew Wright

There was this guy in New York. He went jogging in Central Park every morning. He always took with him a 5 dollar bill in the top pocket of his training gear. He went to the café by the lake, in the park and had a cup of coffee and a doughnut.
One morning, as he went through the gates of the park, another jogger knocked into him. He thought, ‘Heh, man!  What’re you doing? The Park is big enough!’
Then, he suddenly thought, ‘Heh!  Maybe he was thief! Maybe he just
bumped into me to pick my pockets!’ He looked in the top pocket of his training jacket. No five dollar bill!
The other jogger was just a few metres in front of him. He thought,
‘He’s a thief!  He just robbed me!  I’ve always said there is too much
crime in New York.  I have always said, that honest people must stand and confront crime. Now I must do it!’
So he ran after the other jogger and cracked him on the shoulder, ‘Heh! Give me that five dollars!’
The other jogger stopped and looked very frightened and pale.  His
knees shook and he held up his hand.  ‘Ok! Ok!  Just take it easy, baby! Stay cool!  Stay cool now!’ and he took five dollars out of his pocket and then ran back out of the park as fast as he could go.
Anyway, the first jogger, he was very pleased with himself. ‘I’ve done it. I faced a criminal. I got my money back!’ He felt on top of the world.

He ran to the café, bought a coffee and two doughnuts!
He ran back home, smiling to himself.  ‘I’ve done it! I’ve done it!’
When he got home his wife was shaking her head and smiling.  ‘Oh
dear! You’ve had a bad morning!’  she said.
‘A bad morning? I’ve had a very good morning, actually! Why?’
‘But, you left your five dollar bill on the kitchen table!’

Comment
I love stories about how easy it is to jump to conclusions and to take
action which is unwarranted and then to regret it.  Urban legends like this one can be used with almost any age.