Jaron Johnson: Louisiana Boy Finds $100 Bill, Returns It To 86-Year-Old Man Who Lost It
An 8-year-old Louisiana boy is being called a hero after finding $100 and then returning it to its rightful owner: An 86-year-old man who needed it to buy food, KWTX-TV (Waco) is reporting.
From the moment he saw the $100 bill laying on the floor at the Pineville, Louisiana, WalMart, Jaron Johnson knew that the money wasn’t his. And while most 8-year-olds could be excused for finding some money and then dreaming of toys and candy, for Jaron, there was never any doubt about what he would do with it. He would find the owner, come hell or high water.
Jaron believes that God expects nothing less from him.
“When I walked outside of the store I said, ‘Lord, let somebody that really needs that money, find it.’ When I turn things over to the Lord, I don’t fool with it anymore.”
Jaron’s mom, Jodie, says that Jaron is all about integrity.
“We talked about it on the way home, you know, people work hard for their money. I was immediately proud of him. He’s a great kid. He has amazing character. He does the right thing even when no one is looking.”
Still, the odds were against Jaron and his mom finding out who the money belonged to. So they did the only thing they could think of to do. They called Walmart and asked if anyone had reported missing the money.
“I gave it to my mom and then the next day when we woke up I reminded her to call Walmart to see if anyone reported it.”
A third grader at Tioga Elementary School waited all weekend to return a hundred dollar bill he found at the Pineville Walmart. KALB’s Lydia Magallanes was there to capture the moment 8-year-old Jaron Johnson got to return the money: https://t.co/Jis5BKIs45
— KALB News Channel 5 (@KALBtv5) April 24, 2018
As it turns out, someone did report the money missing. What’s more, it was a person who truly needed it: an 86-year-old man.
James Grice is retired and, like many elderly Americans, lived on a fixed income. Dropping his hundred-dollar-bill that day wasn’t just an inconvenience; the accident left him unable to buy food that day.
Fortunately, after a few phone calls were made, the young lad and the older gentlemen were united, and Mr. Grice was given his money back. In exchange, the younger boy was given $20 and, perhaps even more meaningful to him, the promise of fresh tomatoes from Mr. Grice’s garden when they’re ripe this summer.
For Mr. Grice, Jaron’s desire to do the right thing reminds him that there is still good in the world.
“That child right there, he’s 100 percent to me.”
