While resting in a freeway rest stop, we heard a flurry of knocks on our door. A very excited man told us we should come with him quickly, that the TV cameras were coming and a man was giving away $100 bills. All of us but Lindsey hopped out to see what was happening. The man led us to a small crowd of men standing and one man sitting on the ground with money. The story was that the sitting man had won millions of dollars in the Powerball lottery and that he was giving a lot of it away. At one point, someone mentioned that his religion required him to give away a third of his earnings, and he wanted to give it away to regular people. The man sitting on the ground had some cash in his hand and some playing cards on the ground. Seeing this, Pam took the kids back to the RV. I, on the other was, felt excited about this opportunity for free money. Greed grabbed me and drew me into the scam. The man had three cards and if you picked the correct card, you doubled your money. Someone gave me $5 to get me started. I handed it to the seated man, pointed to the ace, and he gave me back two fives. Next they asked me to see what I had in my own wallet. I had $156, handed it over, and chose the wrong card. Feigning surprise and compassion, someone asked me whether I had more money in the RV. But at this point, my eyes were wide open and I knew I was sunk. No, I said, just give me back my money. They all encouraged me to hurry and get what I could from my RV to earn back what I had lost. No, no, I would not make that mistake again. One of the bystanders invited me to his truck so he could show me what he had received, offering to lend me some. I followed, and then he withdrew his offer. Big surprise. I was the fool, and I learned an important lesson.

Lesson 5: If an activity involves money and chance, it is gambling. Avoid it.