So then I had to explain the concept of bad people to Dan, who constantly berates himself for what a

We checked in to a Los Angeles hotel just outside LAX for an easy transition for our cross-country flight home the next day. Dan (18, autism) made a mad dash for the lobby bathroom while Jim and I registered car rentals in arizona at the front desk. The 3 of us got into the elevator to lug our luggage car rentals in arizona (aha moment: THAT s why they call it luggage! ) to the room.
In the elevator, Dan said, Well, my wallet is a lot lighter. What do you mean? A man in the bathroom asked if I had any money to help him get his car back because it was towed, and I said all I had was a hundred dollar bill. You GAVE him the money Grammy gave you for your BIRTHDAY? That s all I had! Well, we are going to put our stuff in the room and go back down to report this to Security! NO, MOM! What s wrong with trying to HELP someone?
My precious boy. And I am spitting mad an adult male took advantage of my special needs kid! And my 6 3 250-pounder doesn t want to report him. What to do? How can I MAKE him come with me? Well then, we are just going to stop-and-wait-until-you-change-your-mind. We are going to sit here, no TV, no dinner, no nothing, until you change your mind, because that man lied to you, and we need to try and get your money back. He LIED to me?
So we went down to our desk clerk, who reported it to Security. We tried to get a description from Dan. Was he taller or shorter than you? Shorter. (Most people are!)   Older or younger than me and Dad?  Older . (Really? At 56 and 55, we are no spring chickens!) Overweight or skinny? Mom, it s not nice to talk about that! (Oh, for Pete s sake!) Was he Caucasian like us, or Black or Hispanic or any other race? It s not nice to talk about that either! We re just trying to get a description, not racial profiling! What was he wearing? Was his shirt short sleeves or long? White shirt with short sleeves and a black vest. (Well, NOW we are getting somewhere!) So with this description, the security guy saw him on camera walking out the back door, down the street, out of camera range.
The hotel staff did everything they could. They called in the valet from the front door and showed him the video and told him to report car rentals in arizona the guy if he ever showed up again. (The black vest made him look like a driver of some kind.) They reported it to the General Manager. They gave us a breakfast coupon, and none of this was their fault. They took our home phone number and said they would call if they got a chance to confront the guy. Which was more than the police did, who wouldn t even come to look at the video because no force or threat was used against our newly-adult son.
So then I had to explain the concept of bad people to Dan, who constantly berates himself for what a FOOL I was! and asking how he can get his money back.  How an adult male should NEVER ask a teenager for help unless he is bleeding. How you don t HAVE to help if you don t want to, and if you DO want to help, never give anyone the last bill in your wallet because you might need it, and if you have more than one bill and want to help, give them the least denomination, not the highest. And I HATED having to teach him these things.
Lessons Mom learned: (1) Do we need to consider guardianship? What does that mean? Make appointment to see lawyer.  (2)  Stop being critical of parents car rentals in arizona who keep their adult children with special needs at home. You don t know their story. Something like this is probably why they do it. I am much more sympathetic. (3) Let it go. Romans 12:19