Category Archives: Anonymous

Day 125: Anonymous letter left at Washington, D.C. Trader Joe’s

Posted on May 5, 2015 | Leave a comment
I placed the letter under a package of the sinfully delicious TJ's ice cream sandwiches.

I placed the letter under a package of the sinfully delicious TJ’s ice cream sandwiches.

Trader Joe’s is a strange but wonderful grocery store. On one hand, I get frustrated with them due to their limited selection. But just when I’m starting to take my business elsewhere I find some really awesome product. Or one of their quirky employees will make my day. I think that’s really what wins me over, the people. They actually seem happy there.

I left an anonymous letter with a five dollar bill at the Trader Joe’s in the West End neighborhood of DC today. I placed it under a box of Trader Joe’s Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches. They are amazing and a crew member there once told me that they saved her marriage on more than one occasion. Ok, so that might be a stretch, but I figured if they could bring some happiness to someone, I’d like to make that happen.

By the way, if you’re a fan of TJ’s, check out my letter on Day 31 to Trader Joe’s CEO Dan Bane.

Day 125

Hey there!

I see you are checking out the Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches. They’re delicious and appropriately named. I bought them the first time on a recommendation from a TJ’s team member who said that they had saved her marriage – more than once! They’re on me today. Enjoy.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Anonymous

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Day 112: Anonymous Letter Left at Roger Dean Stadium

Posted on April 22, 2015 | Leave a comment

Day 112-6I’m in Jupiter, FL today for work and decided to catch a minor league baseball game. The Palm Beach Cardinals were hosting the Fort Myers Miracle. Both are Class A Advanced Affiliates for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Minnesota Twins respectively.

I wrote up an anonymous note, tucked it in a neatly addressed aubergine envelope and left it on a table that was right behind the home plate seats at the end of the fifth inning. Surely someone would see it there and pick it up. After the game, I walked by to make sure someone had claimed it, but to my surprise it was still sitting there.

I had pretty good seats!

I had pretty good seats!

I picked it up and walked outside. I was trying to think of another clever place to put it when I saw a mailbox for the stadium. Perfect! I dropped my note in there, we’ll see if anyone finds it.

Oh, and in case you were interested, the Cardinals easily took care of Miracle 7-2.

Day 112-5

You can see the mailbox where I dropped my letter just to the left of the door.

You can see the mailbox where I dropped my letter just to the left of the door.

This note is for you. I’ve made a commitment to write a handwritten note every day this year. If I could, I’d make a commitment to go to a baseball game every day for a year! I love the game and hope that you enjoyed tonight’s game as well. 

Best regards,
Reed Sandridge (Wash. DC)

The Cardinals beat the Miracles 7-2.

The Cardinals beat Miracle 7-2.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Anonymous

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Day 104: Anonymous letter left in DC Starbucks

Posted on April 15, 2015 | 1 comment
Writing my letter at Starbucks.

Writing my letter at Starbucks.

April 15th means it’s the deadline to file your taxes. Well, not really. You can file for an extension. Anyway, it is understandable that today could be a bit depressing as you think about how much money you are handing over to the government so I thought I would try to do something nice for a stranger.

I left this letter at the Starbucks at the corner of 22nd and K Street in Washington DC. Inside I tried something different – I put a $5 gift card. It’s not much, but perhaps it will lift their spirits if they’re having a bad day.

I added the quote by Paula Poundstone – I thought it was funny and I met her a few years ago. She was great. I hope that starting out my note with “The wages of sin” doesn’t scare away the person who finds this by causing them to think that I’m some nut lurking across the Starbucks who is going to come up to them later and start preaching to them.

Day 104 anonymous

“The wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes are taken out, it’s just sort of a tired feeling.” – Paula Poundstone

 

Hopefully you’re not feeling too tired today…but in case you are, have some coffee on me. As we “celebrate” tax day – I hope this small letter and gift will help make your day a happy one.

Enjoy!

1 Comment

Posted in Anonymous

Tagged , , , , , ,

Day 84: Anonymous letter left in Berkey Creamery in State College, PA

Posted on March 25, 2015 | Leave a comment

Day 84-2I am in State College, PA today – the home of Penn State University. I decided to leave an anonymous letter at one of my favorite places here: Berkey Creamery.

As a land grant school, Penn State has a long history with agriculture. The Berkey Creamery opened exactly 150 years ago – that’s the main reason I stopped in, not for the ice cream, but to pay tribute to a historical institution.

They sell ice cream, butter, cheese, milk – they pretty much have any dairy product you can imagine. Their ice cream is delicious. Legend has it that on average only four days elapse between the cow and your newly dipped cone. That’s pretty awesome. My favorite flavor is the Cookies N Cream – a rich vanilla with chunks of Oreo cookies mixed together.

I left the letter on my chair. Two men quickly sat down – but I don’t think they saw the letter. They were too distracted by the massive mounds of ice cream that were piled on the cake cone. I don’t blame them. Hopefully someone finds the letter and drops us a note here on the blog.

I repurposed a colorful bag from the Paper Source to make the liner of this envelope.

I repurposed a colorful bag from the Paper Source to make the liner of this envelope.

“A person won’t remember if you send a thank you note, and they won’t forget if you don’t.”
-Mary Watt New

Hopefully receiving this will brighten your day and inspire you to send someone a handwritten note.

Leave a comment

Posted in Anonymous

Tagged , , , , , ,

Day 62: Anonymous

Posted on March 3, 2015 | Leave a comment

I’m in New York City and discovering that writing letters is more of a challenge when you’re on the road. Anyways, I decided to leave my second anonymous letter today. It was either that or a post card!

Day62-5

I snapped this photo quickly before leaving the letter at the Starbucks.

I got caught in a blizzard that tore through the city around 4pm today. Horizontal snow was pelleting my uncovered face. Seeking a bit of refuge, I ducked into a glowing Starbucks at 55th and Lexington and bought an expresso to warm me up. I had some time to burn so I took over a stool looking north across 55th street at an antiques shop that has several ivory items in display window that are probably illegal.

I felt nervous about this again – not about the ivory. I mean they should be nervous, but I was nervous about leaving the letter without someone seeing me. I’d already been in a Starbucks on 57th between Park and Lexington and couldn’t seem to find the moment to leave the blackberry envelope without being “caught.” Even at the second Starbucks I was quite certain that that woman sitting closest to me was going to look up from her Macbook Air and say, “Hey, you left your letter!”

Day62-2Nope, not today. I bolted straight for the door much like you see in the movies right before a bomb goes off. My pulse quickened…I could have been robbing a bank for all my heart knew. Thankfully I managed a clean getaway.

The letter features a quote (at right) from Ross McCammon who is an editor with Esquire Magazine, columnist with Entrepreneur Magazine and author of the forthcoming book Works Well with Others. He works in New York so I figured a quote from him in the letter I was leaving there was appropriate. And I just love the quote. Anyway, I tweeted a photo of the card this morning and tagged him in it. I didn’t really expect to get a response but he promptly replied saying…

Screen Shot 2015-03-03 at 8.33.32 PM

 

Classy guy. You should Google him – I enjoy a lot of his writing and am looking forward to reading his book.

Here’s my letter – hopefully the recipient has a sense of humor.

Day62-3

 

“A handwritten note is worth more than a $100 gift card but probably not more than a $200 gift card.” – Ross McCammon

Day62

I did a little embossing on the front of the card.

I love this quote and in many cases I think Mr. McCammon is correct. I hope you have a great day and hopefully you will be inspired to give someone a handwritten note this week.

All that said – I bet you’re pissed there was no money in here.

Leave a comment

Posted in Anonymous

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,