When I called my dad and asked how his day went, he told me “Really bad.” He had been robbed. I asked what was stolen and he said, “All my money.” “But Dad,” I said, “you didn’t have any money.” “Ha! Ha!” he replied, “Then the bastard didn’t get anything!”

He was very relieved to find out he had experienced a much better day than he thought. After dumping all his belongings out of his drawers and unsuccessfully searching for his money, he needed to put everything back in order. What a task. Was I sure he did not have any money, he wanted to know. I assured him he did not. I told him we kept some  money with the owner of the assisted living center, and I handled the rest so it was safe.

I asked if someone was in his room snooping around. How did he get the idea he had been robbed? He had not seen anyone in his room. He just knew a robber had been there because his money was missing. Yes, he had indeed tricked the robber and was now delighted. Outsmarting the robber by not having any money was very clever. His day swung from defeat to triumph.

A few hours before I called, I felt scatter-brained, like I was spinning my wheels–not getting anything done. Ken said he was feeling the same way. We had no explanation for it. We wondered who was spinning their wheels today. Hmmm…looks like my dad was madly peddling away.