The torn envelope is on my desk - it was sent by a father who lives about 40 miles north of me.  He saw a craigslist posting for my son's dirtbike gear and emailed me over the past few weeks.  He finally decided he wanted to buy the gear, and asked if I would ship the gear to his house if he sent me a check.

I wrote back and said I would be happy to ship if he added $10 to the price.  And, oh by the way, I would prefer if he paid a PayPal invoice.  You see I hadn't decided to trust him.

No problem at all he said, but would I mind if he sent a cashier's check instead of using PayPal - he wasn't sure where his password etc. were.  I was impressed - a trip to the bank to get a cashier's check seemed like a lot of effort.  I said sure.

Friday's mail arrived with the envelope as promised.  When I opened it, a plain piece of white paper was folded over two fives and two twenties - fifty dollars cash inside the envelope.  I was taken aback by this man's trust.  Trusted the post office - trusted me.  And I felt honored by his trust - and somewhat embarrassed by my lack of it.

Is craigslist helping us be better neighbors?  Could be.  The messages they send are clear - deal locally and things will be good.  These are your neighbors, after all.  Quite ironic that technology enables the delivery of this message.  Technology that connects us to neighbors we haven't yet met, and warns us to avoid scams from distant places.  Reminds me of the small rural town I grew up in.

I like the feeling of being trusted by this father.  Next time I think I will try it myself - makes for a better neighborhood.