In New York recently, there were 7 winners in the Mega Millions lottery. Apparently there were 5 people who usually participated, but didn't this time. I listened to one of the poor guys being interviewed and he said he was happy for the others and they were all great people.
This brings to mind something that happened at E.P.A. a long time ago. There actually was somebody at E.P.A. that Art knew who won! I think it was something like 16 million. I can't remember, but it was big. This wasn't a pool. It was all hers.
Art said some of her friends went around collecting money from everybody to throw her a farewell party which they did... throw the party that is.
Art said the woman told everybody she had not yet collected any of her winnings. After the party, they never saw her again.
I guess it's hard to know how people would behave after they won. It's the same thing as wondering how you'd behave at a time of life threatening crisis. You can say you'd do the right thing, but until it happens you don't really know for sure.
Art and I used to buy a $1.00 lottery ticket every couple of months or so just for the dream. We'd plan out how we were going to handle it. Get a financial consultant. Put a bunch in an investment program. Set aside a charity trust. Repave the driveway.Then we'd think about how it would affect our kids. They might drop out of school. Perhaps they would stop striving toward a goal. They'd be corrupted by the affluence. People would be hounding us. We'd be buried under a mountain of solicitation. We'd have to move away from the neighbors we loved. By the time the winners were announced we were joyous that we didn't win.
Hawaii doesn't have a lottery. Maybe that's why the most popular vacation spot for islanders is Las Vegas.
So what would you do if you won?
I don't necessarily blame the E.P.A woman for making herself scarce. That "mountain of solicitation" you noted.
ReplyDeleteIf I won big... After I picked myself off the floor ......I'd hire a chauffeur. I don't drive at night anymore. Last night I went out to hear my granddaughter's band but I had to leave before it got dark. It would be wonderful to stay as late as I wanted and say, "James, bring my car please." :)
ReplyDeleteI used to buy lottery tickets every week but rarely won even the smallest prize - £10. Eventually I decided I was throwing money away and stopped.
ReplyDeleteHalf the fun lies in imagining what you'd do with the big win. It must change your life, not necessarily for the better.
I would give money to my kids, grandkids, sisters, their children, IHS, Hospice Hawaii, Hawaii Opera Theater, and the University of Hawaii.
ReplyDeleteI would tell David to retire from his job. We would then travel the world.
I would put the rest of the money in CDs. I would NOT sink any money in the stock market, no thanks!
I don't gamble so wouldn't buy a lottery ticket. I think it would definitely change your life bigtime...
ReplyDeleteI've never bought a ticket, although my husband does. If I won I hope that I would do good with it for my family and beyond. I joke that I'll have to find a ticket in a parking lot or something, as the first lotto winner here in Florida claimed to have done. He had talked against the lotto and didn't want to admit having bought a ticket, that was the general belief anyway.
ReplyDeleteWe ALL have dreams about what we would do "if". It's fun to dream.
ReplyDeleteDoc buys lottery tickets sometimes. The most he usually wins is $3 for a $5 ticket, so I don't have high hopes for a big win. College for my grandkids would be the first place I would put the winnings.
ReplyDeleteI do believe it is a curse to win but that doesn't stop me from buying one ticket a week. I mean, I will be different won't I? Oh yeah.
ReplyDeleteI would give it all away except $100,000 to bank. My friends and family are all pulling for me to win.
I would try to use it sensibly, but for sure I´d let myself splurge on traveling. My kids would have security and my siblings would probably get a share as well. I would not keep it all to myself, I would want others to share in the wealth. I´m just like that.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post, interesting thoughts, Kay. I've never given serious thought to what I'd do with the money...but it does sounds stressful. I think I could handle under $5 million! Wonder why Hawaii doesn't allow lotteries.
ReplyDeleteI usually only buy a ticket when the prize gets REALLY high, but on those days when everything is going right, my mantra is "I should buy a lottery ticket".
ReplyDeleteIf I came into a lot of money when I was younger I'd do things differently than I would now. At this point in my life I'd travel and treat myself to whatever I wanted in the grocery store (and not worry about the price!)
I've bought a few Illinois lottery tickets over the years. I won $100.00 once. I'm not very lucky.
ReplyDeleteI imagine winning a whole bunch of money like that would really change everything in a person's life.
Hi Kay,
ReplyDeleteIf I won it, I'd save money in the bank and get interest!
and I'd have a part time job at the doughnut shop instead of full time work!
I used to think of it.
but now, I'd move somewhere because I could throw away my job if I got money.
by the way I couldn't find twitter to find people but I was able to find this google service.
http://www.google.co.jp/intl/ja/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html
you can choose Enlgish. so your friend could use it!
Hi Kay again!
ReplyDeleteI got a lot of bottled water but it's not enough if we couldn't drink tap water for few years.
and I heard we can't order water servers. because too many people ordered it already.
when my husband tried to order it, he couldn't do it.
After giving it to my money man to handle, I would go back to sponsoring the scholarship I used to sponsor before my money vanished. I'd help my kids, and go on a trip. Perhaps I would buy a condo downtown that would be one story tall. LOL What ever I'd do it would be to keep things simple.
ReplyDeleteI would buy a house here in Charlotte and then a house at the beach so our family could vacation there together. The rest of the $$ would go into the bank and sit there for my grandchildren and children.
ReplyDeleteIt is fun to just wonder.
ReplyDeleteI would also give my children part of the winnings.
For sure I would buy a brownstone in Chicago and my husband could retire early!
Nice dream!
(I also would love to have a home in Hawaii so that I could be closer to you and Art!)
There was a couple here in Fresno that won a really big California Lotto and no one ever knew who it was because they had sold their home, quit their jobs, and moved away before they claimed the winnings. (You have a year here to make the claim.) I thought that was rather a bizarre way to live.
ReplyDeleteYou are very wise people . It must be difficult to win such an enormous amount of money.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your visit and comment. You are right that Californian minister did wrong to burn the koran. He must have realised what the consequences would be for American people in Afghanistan and other muslim countries are. It was downright stupid and disrespectful.
If the amount was enough, I would get myself and my daughters out of debt, fix my sister's house, and move where I could have a great backyard for my grandkids. Ahhh...it's fun to dream.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me, Reader Will, the minister of which you write is in FLORIDA.
ReplyDeleteRYN: How? I crop the image tightly. Next, I sharpen the rose till it is really crisp, and I go to "Enhance," "Adjust lighting", and deepen the "contrast" to about +24 to +30. Next right click on the "sponge tool, dodge tool, and burn tool." Choose the dodge tool and set it to 12 percent. Highlight the light areas until they offer a really strong contrast. Ditto with the burn tool in the areas that need to be darker.
ReplyDeleteIt can be a mediocre shot, and with just a little Photoshop Elements, you can really help it.
See what you get for telling me you would like to do it. LOL
I won 5 of the 6 numbers once. I received enough money to put 4 new tires on the pick up, pay a month's rent, and have a really nice meal out. That was plenty.
ReplyDeleteI cleaned house for one of the first winners of the Washington State lottery. He said that before he won he and his wife were struggling but happy and they had two great kids. At that time he was divorced, one of his kids was in rehab, the other hadn't spoken to him in months and he was wishing he'd never bought that ticket.
My uncle was one of the first winners of the Colorado lottery many years ago. It was $10,000 as I recall. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw it. He went out and bought land with it. He died before he ever realized the profit on the land, but he was visionary because the prairie is now covered with houses.
ReplyDeleteI don't buy, so I don't dream. In the Chinese culture, you got to donate to people of all religious groups, the money don't belong to you. You can't keep it all to yourself.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it would be great to give the kids money. But me, I prefer the challenge of living frugally and humbly.
ReplyDeleteMaggie: THANK YOU so much! I'll try what you said. You are so talented at doing PhotoShop.
ReplyDeleteBut in that case, i think i am not a lucky person. I play 4 to 5 times but every time failure.
ReplyDelete