It’s a story as comic and tragic as any penned by the Bard, Neil Simon.

A lowly storekeep purchases one shot at financial independence with 50 cents from a friend thrown in for good measure.

Was it a loan?

Was it a gift?

Was it one crazy chance at happiness bought on a whim and a fancy?

That is what the court system will now have to figure out.

When Timothy Schultz bought that lottery ticket from himself, he was doing as many of us have done.

He was taking an insanely unlikely chance at winning a huge wad of cash ($15.9 million in this case).

In spite of the odds against him, he won. But his victory was not to be an unsullied one.

His co-worker and the source of the 50 cents, Sarah Elder, decided to step up and say, “Hold ‘er noot, pally! That there swag is half mine!”

Problem is that Elder is only 20 and whether she knew it or not, she was not entitled to purchase a ticket or even to claim after the fact that she was entitled.

Now the entire booty may be in danger of slipping through both their grasps.

Greed is a powerful motivator. It can make the most level-headed among us act irrationally, but in this case, Elder should have though this out more clearly before hoisting herself by her own petard.

Maybe discussing this with Schultz first would have been a good idea.

This entire situation does point clearly to a very important moral lesson.

Trust no one. Especially when buying lottery tickets.

Always make all transactions regarding the purchase of lottery tickets clear before hand and, if possible, get a witness to sign any necessary paperwork before borrowing, lending or giving away the partial purchase price of a lottery ticket.

Either that or just take the ticket and pay for it later when you are solvent, especially if you are the clerk who normally hands them out.

In this day and age of financial uncertainty, it pays to be prepared for all eventualities.

Since the cat is out of the bag already, maybe these two could just come to a sensible arrangement.

Or, before you know it, the state will decide that neither one of these two deserves the winnings because it flies in the face of evolution to let them get rich while reasonable people in other parts of the country await the verdict.