Bay Area photographer returns vacationer’s misplaced pockets with assist of pals

What started as a routine pictures outing close to the Golden Gate Bridge become an sudden act of kindness for Bay Area photographer Stu Berman.

Berman was climbing a path whereas capturing photographs of the enduring bridge when he seen one thing uncommon on his approach again to his automobile.

“On the way back up the trail towards my car, I saw a wallet on the ground, and I picked it up and looked at it and recognized the person in the wallet was someone I had passed about 20, 30 minutes before,” Berman mentioned.

Inside the pockets was a Vietnamese identification card, prompting Berman to start trying to find the proprietor. He later realized the person labored for VNG Games, a Vietnam-based know-how firm, however preliminary efforts to contact him on-line had been unsuccessful.

Separately, Berman had plans to spend time with an outdated good friend. During their dialog, she talked about she had beforehand lived in Vietnam — a element that unexpectedly helped transfer the search ahead.

“I was like, you lived in Vietnam, and she’s like, I did,” Berman mentioned.

He requested whether or not she spoke Vietnamese.

“I don’t,” she replied. “But I know people who do.”

When Berman shared the story of the misplaced pockets, together with the connection to VNG Games, his good friend realized she would possibly be capable of assist.

“So, I proceeded to tell her the whole wallet saga, including VNG Games,” he mentioned. “And then she said, ‘I think I know somebody who works at VNG Games.'”

That connection led to a good friend of a good friend in Vietnam who personally knew the pockets’s proprietor and helped hyperlink the 2 whereas the person was nonetheless visiting the Bay Area.

“I got a message on WhatsApp saying, ‘Hey Stu, I hear you might have my wallet,'” Berman mentioned. “And I said, ‘I do. Where are you right now?'”

The two met shortly afterward, and Berman returned the pockets to its relieved proprietor.

Berman mentioned the expertise bolstered his perception within the significance of on a regular basis kindness, particularly amid ongoing international tensions.

“You know there is so much anger and violence in the world right now,” he mentioned. “And I feel like I can feel helpless at times, not knowing how to respond to all the horrible things that are happening. And yet I feel like if I can try and change my little corner of the world, just a little bit, make it a little bit brighter, and inspire others to do the same, then, hallelujah.”

In the top, it was a small second with a giant ripple impact. A reminder that generally probably the most highly effective photographs aren’t simply those we seize, however the methods easy acts of kindness can change how we see photographs on the planet.