‘Sorry it took so long’: A stranger cracked their truck mirror and took off. Then came the envelope of cash
When Sonia Rodger Simmonds and her husband discovered the mirror of their truck had been broken by a passerby last month, they expected nothing to come of it.
And they were caught off guard.
The truck - a GMC Sierra - is always parked in front of their home on Tragina Avenue in the city's east end. In the time they've had it, there have never been any problems.
It's a large truck," she said. We were a little surprised that the driver's side mirror was broken."
With no note or knock at the door, the pair knew there was nothing to go off of to figure out who did it.
We were upset," said Rodger Simmonds, who's lived on the street for 15 years. There was nothing we could do."
But two weeks later a surprise she said restored her faith in mankind" was found tucked behind the mirror.
One morning Rodger Simmonds' husband had gone out to the truck and saw something poking out from behind the broken plastic and shattered glass.
It was a note, written on what appeared to be an old receipt. Tucked inside of it, a $100 bill.
For your mirror, sorry it took so long," read the note, scribbled in red pen and signed with a happy face. There was no telephone number and no name.
We were very shocked ... and very appreciative that someone did that," said Rodger Simmonds. It made us feel really good ... even though we don't know who it is."
In an attempt to not only see if the person would come forward but to also share the good news, she decided to post about the note and money in the East End Hamilton Neighbourhood Watch Facebook group on Oct. 23.
The group can sometimes be filled with negative" posts, Rodger Simmonds added, with many revolving around people's cars getting broken into or their packages getting stolen off their porches.
The response to the post has been great," garnering more than 200 shares and nearly 1,600 likes as of Wednesday evening.
We wanted to show that there are good people out there and good things can happen," said Rodger Simmonds. There are still good people in Hamilton."
As for the mirror itself, Rodger Simmonds said they only got around to fixing it last weekend and the total cost came to around $260.
But they were still appreciative of the gesture nonetheless - which remains anonymous. No one had come forward as of Wednesday.
It certainly did help us," she said. We know how money is tight with everything going on ... it was very kind of them."
Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com