So I have to admit: I play the Super Mega Uber Lottery every once in a while, but only on my birthday or if the prize is over a hundred million dollars. Yes, I know the odds are better that I’ll get hit by lightning then they are of me winning, but the couple minutes of joy I get imagining what I will do with the tremendous amount of cash (roughly 38 cents on the dollar for lump sum, plus the assumption that I would have to split it, meaning $100million would give me about $19million, still enough to do whatever I want) are totally worth it.
I drugstore get a few minutes of joy thinking about establishing trusts for my kids that will pay totally for their education and allow them to have a car in college (not a sports car, but something reliable and not ten years old). I think of the local investments I can make to grow local start-up businesses, thus helping the local economy. I think of the season tickets at Yankees Stadium (hey, if you are worth more than a baseball player makes in a year you are entitled to splurge a bit!). This couple of minutes of dreaming is worth one dollar.
And yesterday I won. As usual when I go grab gas or milk at Stewart’s I hand the ticket to someone at the counter and say “Tell me I’m a loser.” Managing my expectations, sort of. And yesterday the lady told me “You’re a winner!” Imagine the thoughts that went off in my head for a few seconds before I pulled myself back to reality!
“How much?”
“$2.”
Sweet! So I gave half to the charity collection they run at Stewart’s. Have to share my good fortune!