Life can sometimes get complex when things look the same.

The other day, for example, my wife went to the lecture at Chautauqua and took a rollator…essentially a walker with four wheels that helps out when you have a limp or a bad leg. When she got home that day, she realized that the walker she brought home from Chautauqua was not the one she had taken to the lecture.

Just think about it. There are a number of people at Chautauqua who use these devices–and, except for differences in color, they all look pretty much the same. Result–you can bring one home that may not be the same as the one you took.

And, when that happens, a whole series of additional events is triggered. The person now missing their walker, realizing probably what had happened, took a similar-looking walker and started home…hoping that somehow the mistake would be realized, and that things could be rectified.

When that bereaved owner, missing her own walker, “borrowed” another to get home, another person came up and said: “I’m sorry, but that is my walker. Here, you can have this one.” That one was my wife’s and that is how it was eventually returned to her.

Had it made it into the newspaper, the headline would probably have been: “Missing Rollator Mystifies Chautauqua!”

Of course, the mystery was soon solved. The next day, a posting on social media was made by the person whose rollator/walker had disappeared. When my wife met her to exchange walkers, it was found that the story had been even more intriguing than thought.

In short, a three-way exchange was needed in order to finally rectify the mistaken, innocent absconding of similar-looking walkers, all which had been parked near each other behind the amphitheater during the lecture.

A simple mistake had become complex–a multiple return and exchange was required to finally resolve things. And…so it goes as we relearn one of the lessons of life. When things look the same, complex things can happen.

The whole episode reminded me of similar things happening when we were kids in elementary school. Sometimes someone would mistakenly take the wrong bike from the bike-rack after school and then ride it home. At times, the mistaken “exchange” had resulted in a better bike being taken than the one brought to school. Yet, the teachers would ultimately, the next day, get to the bottom of it and everything would be ironed out. All Schwinn bikes looked the same, and such things could happen.

And, I still remember the time when someone took my coat (which looked like theirs) from the restaurant coat room, and my car keys were in it. When they got home, it was discovered. My coat and car keys were returned to the restaurant, and we were eventually able to drive home.

So, it is not just with transportation devices but in many situations–when things look the same, complex ramifications can occur!

Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.