Friday, October 30, 2009

Mystery Black Book

I hold in my hand a small genuine leather note book. Flipping to some of the notes I believe it must belong to a banker. It has loose leaf pages with notes from others. After returning from a mornings shopping and then a Rotary luncheon, on getting out of my car there was the book on the passenger seat. I gathered it up with my mail and other stuff and carried it into my pad with a curiosity as to who might have left it by mistake. I finally got around to looking in the book for a name and address which was not on the first few pages but the names of some large banks were the headings of pages. Having learned about the dishonesty in so many banks' management I sat down to study this strange document. After an interruption and watching the news I reconsidered the strange book. The more I flipped through the pages the more I wondered about the source of the thing. Who do I know who would be involved with so many well known Banks and so many. There were headings such as "So&so is on board." On the page headed with the name of a big bank was written, "So & so is still holding out." Those words were crossed out with a date under the words and the word "until," added to several. Page after page of banks with notes that suggested to me that this was some dreamer or perhaps some executive's notes about deals. If so where a note referred to 100 I wondered if it referred to thousand or could it be million? It was getting late and I decided to sack out and study the book in the morning. I tossed and turned and checked the clock which indicated morning had arrived so finally I turned on the light and sitting up in bed decided that that book in my hands may be dynamite. It looked to me like lists of loans made by banks all over the country. Mortgages with values or estimates so that the figures must have been bundles of loans on each page and by totals an X with double the first figure following rows of entries. My conclusion at this point is that a bunch of mortgages of a given value were listed as worth twice as much as the banks had claimed. In one place the words, "all eight of us." was written.I think the author had had some engineering education by the symmetrical shapes that were drawn here and there as with doodling. I became so engrossed that dawn was breaking before I had scrutinized the last page of that book. Who put this thing in my car? Why my car? I wonder if it is some F.B.I.agent's misplaced book? There were some dates here and there that ranged from 2003 to several months ago. What should I do with it and about it? I asked a lawyer friend if he had any suggestions. He said, First don't mention that you have such a book. Second if you do mention it don't mention any of the banks by name or you might be sued. Third put the thing in a safe deposit box or bury it somewhere. Then he made a good suggestion, "Don't do a thing. Just wait until someone contacts you." So I have been waiting for a full month suspecting everybody and wondering if someone will get in touch with me. So I decided to make a blog out of it and look for comments after which I will write a followup blog. What do you think I should do? FBI? One of my Senators? Once it's known I have that book am I in any danger? Incidentally, I have had five copies made that all are in safe places.

3 comments:

  1. OK Dad ... that is a good one... but it is a little scary... it was on the front seat when you got in .. was the door locked? window down? im not sure you really want to get the word out that you have this little black book... hopefully you will still have it and we can all get a look at it on thansgiving ... I am soooo excited!!! cant wait to get up there and all get together ... and mulled cidar. I only get that up there! and nobody makes it like you anyway! Love you! Kate

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  2. Truth is stranger than fiction - or is it the other way around?

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  3. I'd call the police to see if a book matching it's description was reported lost or stolen. I think your vehicle may have been a convienient place to ditch something that was found to have no immediate monetary value - but - ya never know, there could be a reward offered...

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