KFC receives apology note, $2 to cover cost of stolen chicken

Rocky Rasmussen, owner of KFC in North Platte, Nebraska, calls the note a "first."

In all his 39 years in the fast-food-chicken business, Rasmussen had never received an apology for a stolen piece of chicken — until last week.

His restaurant received an envelope with an unsigned letter and $2 inside.

"This $2 is for the piece of chicken I brought home with me on Tuesday," the note read. "That's stealing. Sorry!"

"I took more on my plate than I could eat and I knew it would get thrown away there because it couldn’t get put back on the buffet, so I put it in my purse and brought it home," the letter continued. "I do love your chicken!"

"Anyway, God has forgiven me and I hope you will too. I will not be so quick to take so much next time."

"It seems as if her conscience got the best of her," Rasmussen said of the anonymous note-writer. "There was no return address on the envelope. I really wish I knew who it was. I would buy them a few meals."

Rasmussen told the Omaha World-Herald that customers taking advantage of the restaurant's buffet is "an ongoing problem," and that the letter made his day.

"It just makes your faith in people come back a little more," Rasmussen said. "Whoever it was probably doesn't have a lot of money. To send a couple bucks back to us is pretty remarkable. It’s very touching."

This isn't the first thief-with-a-conscience we've featured on The Lighter Side.

In December, the stolen "Jesus the Homeless" statue was returned to a Kensington Market Church in Toronto with a note: "I'm sorry, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

Last January, a thief returned stolen weddings with an apology letter — 15 years after the crime.

Last February, a book was returned to the New York Public Library 55 years late. Included with the return was a $100 cheque, to cover any late fines.

And in December 2011, an Ohio shoplifter came clean, apologizing to a Sharonville Kmart for stealing up to $270 worth of clothing 30 years earlier.

"God brought back to my mind what I had done by stealing from your store," the man wrote. "I truly want to say I am deeply sorry and ask Kmart CEOs to forgive me."

With his apology letter was a money order for $1,000.

The store accepted his apology and decided to use the money to pay off some customer layaways at the store.