Winning big
I owe, I owe its off to work I go.
If you are reading these words, it means I did not win the record-setting Powerball Lottery. Or maybe I did, and I am wisely laying low and going about my normal routine to avoid attracting attention.
Because, you know, all I strive to do in life is to blend into the background and not stand out in any way whatsoever.
Yep, that is me in a nutshell, as quiet and forgettable as a church mouse.
Even if I chose not to go all-in on extravagance and luxury, chances are that if I actually did win the lottery, replacing my current vehicle would probably be among the first things I did — or maybe I wouldn’t. It is not good to be predictable after all.
In recent weeks as the Powerball jackpot climbed into stratospheric levels, I, like many people, spend some time daydreaming about what I would do if suddenly money became no issue.
Years ago, I was working with Dave Lemke on the project to build a walking bridge across the Black River near Hwy 64. Those who know Dave, know him to be a hard-working person who doesn’t take anything for granted. He shared an interesting perspective that having some debt isn’t necessarily a bad thing, telling me that the need to pay your bills gives you incentive to get up and get to work, when you otherwise might not want to.
As with many things said in passing, his comments have stuck with me. I truly don’t know how I would handle it, if suddenly more money than I could spend in my lifetime was dropped into my lap.
I imagine that it would end up being more of a curse than any sort of blessing. You would find yourself wondering if the people laughing with you at the bar were only there because they were parasites feeding off your generosity, or if they were actually your friends.
The benefit of being broke is that you know who your friends are, since there is a good chance they are broke too, and you generally don’t have to worry about someone stabbing you in the back to get ahead.
Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t mind playing at being fabulously wealthy and without care — at least for a few months, but I think I would quickly get bored of it and wanting to get back to work. It is no wonder why those ultra-rich billionaire types start acting weird.
Again, I am more than willing to give it a good try if anyone has several million dollars they want to throw my way, imagine it as a grand social experiment in if a country editor can withstand the allure of being obscenely wealthily.
Yeah, I don’t think so either. I would much rather dream my rather small dreams and strive to be comfortable with what I have rather than envious of wanting more.
For the record, I didn’t even buy a Powerball ticket for the big drawing. I got busy doing other stuff including trying to figure out why my furnace decided to stop working, and didn’t make it to the store in time.
Considering my acceptable level of risk for gambling usually tops out with 50/50s at football games, scratchoffs in my Christmas stocking and basket raffles at benefit fundraisers, I typically will only buy lottery tickets when the jackpot gets above a billion dollars — I feel it is important to maintain some standards.
Growing up, my dad would buy a lottery ticket every week. Considering how hard he worked to support eight kids and how few other hobbies he had, the few dollars spent in dreaming of striking it rich, was better than other vices he could have taken up.
He never did win any big jackpots, but that didn’t stop him from dreaming about some day getting lucky.
From my perspective, I like to think I am pretty lucky as it is, even without winning big in the lottery.
And, to be honest, I much prefer to do the work running a concession stand or hawking popcorn on the Fourth of July to just writing a check and hoping the problems of the world go away.
Brian Wilson is News Editor at The Star News. Contact Brian at BrianWilson@centralwinews.com.
