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Barber Meets Man Who Found His Wages In Costco Parking Lot

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- A follow up tonight to story we told you about last month. A story about strangers, lost cash and kindness.

This is Justin Lovinella, a St. Paul salon owner. In late December, he left his bank deposit pouch on top of his car at Costco.  He was distracted by his son Vincent. Someone turned the money in and left a note, signing it "Kathryn and Larry."

Justin said to WCCO on Dec. 20, 2015, "If they come through and say hey that was us, I'll give Larry a year worth of free haircuts."

One of Larry's friends saw our story, and Larry called Justin.

Justin started cutting at 6 a.m. on his day off.

"I've got 25 cuts for the day," Lovinella said.

He's explaining the reason he's here to customer after customer.  It's because of the couple who found his bank bag with $1,300. The couple who contacted him after hearing, the couple at this point in the day, he'd never met.

"Because of their selfless act, I'm going to do one myself and raise money for this girl who lost her mom. Prior to me even starting the day I raised $2,000," Lovinella said.

He was about to raise more when Larry La Von, the man who protected his bank bag, showed up for a cut of his own.

"I saw this envelope on the roof and I knew exactly what it was. My wife and I have had several small businesses and I knew someone was in trouble," La Von said.

After the two connected on the phone, Larry turned down Justin's offer for a year's worth of free cuts. But he did agree to show up when he heard about Justin's fundraiser.

Justin said to Larry, "All in all it's been a great experience and I thank you for helping me try to achieve that kind of thing."

The two former strangers had a lot to reflect on.  Larry said to Justin, "I saw your son and it brought me back to when I was a young dad."

He went on to say, "It just sent me back to some nice memories, nice."

It seems what happened in a suburban Costco parking lot turned out to be mutually beneficial.  And doing the right thing can bring you to the right people who just might become friends.

Justin joked, "It's all teetering on if he actually likes his haircut."

Before Justin started his 25 haircuts, he had already raised $2,000 for the little girl who lost his mom. He says he plans to make paying it forward part of his routine.

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