"I just knew it was going to be that kind of a day! I got started late. The people I was traveling with decided to go on without me. My donkey came up lame. And the beggar at the gate of the city warned me that the road to Jericho could be a dangerous place.

"But I had to go. I was already behind schedule, and you know how those things go. I was supposed to be in Tarsus by the end of the month. I hadn't seen my family in weeks. So, I did what I knew I shouldn't do and headed for Jericho. I wasn't more than a couple of miles out of town when I noticed that things seemed a little too quiet. Then, it was over almost as quickly as it had started. There were five or six of them. They took everything I had, the donkey, my money bag, even my cloak and sandals. And what's so silly -- if they ha…