Sunday, February 19, 2006

Two Dollars and Dream...

I've never watched "It Could Happen to You" from beginning to end. All I know is that a cop from New York splits a lottery ticket with a broke diner waitress as a tip. Of course, in true fairy tale fashion, they hit the jackpot, fall in love and live happily ever. The movie was based on a true story, which I vaguely recall reading about in the New York Daily News when I was younger.

The odds of winning the lottery are extremely long, but it's not impossible. One person in Nebraska won last night's $365 million dollar Powerball jackpot--so, there's proof that it does happen to someone.

Unfortunately, that someone isn't me.

Does that make me a sore loser? I doubt it, because if it does, then there are millions just like me around the country this morning. Misery loves company. That should help all of us feel a better.

Yeah, not exactly.

I don't consider myself greedy. I've told Jon that I didn't have to win the big one. I would be quite content with winning a few thousand dollars by matching only a couple of numbers. So far, the closest I've come is matching one and the Powerball. Not exactly a play that would make me a wealthy woman, but I did get $15 out of the deal.
$15 dollars compared to a couple of thousand or hundreds of millions. Sort of pales by comparison. At least I can say I've won the lottery, though.

I don't play the lottery often. Usually, common sense and reason tell me that dropping a couple of bucks on a slip of paper isn't a sound investment. Yet, every time the money gets big, I head down to the Irving station and pick up my two tickets (and yes, I know that two tickets make not even the slightest statistical difference when it comes to hitting the big one).

I understand that I am fortunate to have what I do: I'm not broke, I have a nice home, a great family and a job that I enjoy. Winning the lottery wouldn't change most of that. I wouldn't ditch Jon and the kids, I'd still write and as for my home...ok, I might change that. Everyone has a dream home. Mine wouldn't be one of these places that could fit two houses in--I'm not greedy. All I want is my washer and dryer out of the basement.

Is that a lot to ask? I don't think so.

But, for now, my dream home will remain that. Dreams are good. They give us something to strive for, a goal to reach. I'm sure this loss will be me a better, more productive member of society.

And, just to prove that I'm not a sore loser, I offer the following good wishes to the Nebraskan who now has more money than can be spent in a lifetime:

Congratulations! Enjoy your money!

Oh, and if you need someone to write your life story, I'm available...

For a small fee, of course.

3 comments:

sandegaye said...

I'm w/ you.. lost the lottery & still have to trek to the basement to the washer & dryer.
There's always the $15M tomorrow.. ;o)

Anonymous said...

I love reading your life and work in process. Thank you.

riohondo.livejournal.com

Mike Todd said...

I'm with you about the laundry in the basement thing. But at least we don't have to drag a trash bag full of quarters to the laundromat.

Better luck next time!