Catch Your Own Identity Theft?

Karen Lodrick is one of the many victims of identity theft in America. For five months, a woman stalked all of her credit information, social security information, even her drivers license information. She completely took over Lodrick's financial life. She did not just stop at taking the money Karen currently had, but she opened numerous credit card accounts in Karen's name. She tried to track this woman from banks to stores but could never quite catch up. Every time Karen closed one of the credit or debit cards, the unknown woman would open another and continue to charge a mountain of debt in Karen's name.

One morning, while in a Starbucks, Karen noticed a woman standing near her. She had some expensive designer name glasses, and was carrying a coat. Karen thought about where she had seen the woman before, and finally realized that this was the woman she had seen in the surveillance tapes of when her identity was stolen. Karen didn't know what to do, so as the woman and the man she was with sat down outside, Karen called 911 and asked for a police officer to meet her. Soon, Karen got a phone call from a friend of hers, Ed. As she was talking to Ed, the woman got up and started to leave. She looked as if she recognized Karen and got nervous. Karen told Ed that she was going to follow the woman. Ed told her to be careful, because the woman could be dangerous.

Karen started to follow the woman all across town. While following her, Karen called 911 again, this time keeping them on the line so they could keep track of where she was. As Karen was chasing her, the woman threw something in a shopping cart she passed by. Karen picked it up, noticed it was a wallet, but did not take enough time to stop and see what was in it. The woman then tried to get into a taxi, and Karen confronted her. The woman asked Karen why she was chasing her, and told Karen that if she got caught by the police she would be arrested. She then continued to run. Karen chased her for another half an hour but lost her. When the police got there, she went through the woman's wallet and found her own bank statements, pay checks, and even cue cards with her social security number, address, and drivers license information. A few minutes later, police caught the woman.

The fact that this article could have simply been written in one or two paragraphs would have taken away why it's so amazing to readers. The spacing between the paragraphs makes the readers read the article even faster as they try to find out what will happen. The author uses flashbacks in the middle of the article to give the reader background information, and to prolong the final outcome. Readers seem to find it so inspiring because Karen was on a real chase scene, however, there were no weapons involved, nor did any harm come to either women.

http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/catching-identity-thieves-true-stories/article50632-1.html

Finding the Long Lost Gilbert

The author, Diane Covington, is actually one of the main people this story is about. She grew up hearing stories from her father about his time away at war. Her father, Lieutenant Johnson, was in the Navy during WWII. He was stationed in France and discovered a little boy named Gilbert when he first arrived there. Gilbert was an orphan, and with Lieutenant Johnson's little bit of French, they began to communicate. Lieutenant Johnson invited Gilbert to eat with him. They begin to form a friendship, but when it comes time for Lieutenant Johnson to go back home, he inquires about the adoption of Gilbert, and is told no.

Diane had heard many stories about her father's adventures of being in the Navy, but most of them included Gilbert. She recalls how he always remembered Gilbert with fondness. He even traveled to France years after leaving the Navy and tried to look Gilbert up, but failed to find him. In 1991, Lieutenant Johnson passed away. Diane became determined to learn more about World War II, and the kind of life her father led during that time. While in France, she decided to try to find Gilbert again. It did not take much for her to find him, and they finally met. Diane and Gilbert brought their families together to meet, despite the fact that Lieutenant Johnson was no longer there to see it.

The question is however, why is this story so inspiring to the readers? It took very little for Diane to locate Gilbert and his family. She simply placed an ad in the newspaper, and Gilbert read it the next morning. She did not move Heaven and Earth to find him, did not need to hire a private investigator, and was able to meet him before she went back to America. True, it is a touching story, despite the fact that Diane's father, the one that brought them together, was not alive to see it happen. However, the author uses powerful language to make it seem so inspiring.

After meeting Gilbert, Diane learns what happened the morning Lieutenant Johnson and Gilbert said goodbye. Lieutenant Johnson tried to take Gilbert home with him, but due to a storm, and other uncontrollable events, it did not work out. Gilbert also tells Diane that Lieutenant Johnson promised him that he would come back for him, although he never did. Gilbert asks why, and for a moment, the reader realizes that this story is not as inspiring as it is made out to be. However, Diane states that Gilbert's daughter said it was "Le destin" which means destiny. By making the event sound magical, it adds an inspiring twist to the event.

Diane recounts years of emails, phone calls, and visits she has with Gilbert, his family, and her family until the story comes to a sad end. Gilbert was diagnosed with liver cancer, and passed away before Diane could make it to her last visit with him. She did however make it to his funeral in which she put in a picture of young Gilbert and her father on Gilbert's coffin.

This story is supposed to be happy, but the fact that Lieutenant Johnson was not ever able to see Gilbert again, and the fact that the story ends with Gilbert's death makes it sad. It is not as inspiring as the author wants the reader to think it is. Diane went to almost no work, and it was even easy to find Gilbert. Therefore, as touching as it is, it is no more inspiring than the average story in which an adopted child finds their biological parents.

http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/finding-gilbert/article134622-1.html