Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Game On!

It’s Wednesday night – I’m playing the lottery game. I don’t just mean that I purchased a ticket, I mean I am playing my version of the lottery game. I play it every week, usually on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.  I alternate the playing pieces depending on the day of the week. It’s either a Mega Millions ticket or a Powerball ticket.  And the game is called “What Am I Gonna Do When I Win?”
People always like to dream about what they would do if they won the lottery. I love the ones who say they would keep their job. Yeah, right! I would hang up my hard hat in a heartbeat. How is that for alliteration from a freelance writer? Seriously though, discontinuing working for a living would be the first item on my post-lottery winning checklist.
The initial part of my plan is quite practical. Let’s say I win $50 million. Wow, I like saying that. I like writing that. It has a nice ring. Anyway, the state would take about half, so now I am down to $25 million. Whew, I think I can manage on that reduced amount. And I would feel good knowing the other half was paying for scholarships for South Carolina students to attend college. Go Tigers!
So first I would take maybe three to four million off the top to set myself up for life. Why such a small percentage? Come on, just how many millions does one person need to live the rest of their life? At 57, we are not talking a hundred years. I don’t need luxury, I just want some comforts.

Next comes family members. I would pay off one daughter’s mortgage and buy a home for the other. That’s one way to keep her close by. Trust funds would be set up for each of them, as well as grandchildren. I remember years ago when my daughters were still students. I told them if I ever won the lottery, I would set up a fund that paid them each week but only if they were working full time. My younger requested partial payment for working part time. Always thinking, that one.
When all the family members are taken care of, it’s time to start having fun with friends. I picture myself going to the bank and paying off mortgages, but not telling them. Then I want to wait for the day the bank calls and says, “Um, Mrs. Jones, we received your mortgage payment but that loan has been satisfied by an anonymous donor.”  Yeah, I just want to be there when I see the look on their face! It doesn’t get better than that.

I have some specific plans. I am buying myself and my good friend Molly matching condos downtown. We will either be overlooking the Reedy River or Greenville Drive Stadium – or maybe both. We will never need to decide again who is going to be the designated driver when we party downtown. We will just catch the trolley home. Nirvana.

I know it’s a silly game. But sometimes it gets me through the night. I know the odds are like a billion to one, but hey, somebody’s got to win it. Why not me? Game on!

1 comment:

  1. Tag me as one of those friends for the mortgage.

    ReplyDelete