the lottery

What would I buy with my winnings if I were to win the lottery?

It sounds like a line of J.D.'s dialogue from the theoretical overly sanitized made-for-TV version of Heathers when you put it that way.

What would I want?

Coming from a long line of pack-rats, I have since become a bit of a self-imposed minimalist.

I have never even purchased a lottery ticket. The way the we-collective place value is an intriguing matter. Much of it tends to be focused on instant gratification. Why expend fifteen minutes waiting in line at a grocery store to get a pack of Freshen Up gum and some cash back when we can have our greenbacks right freakin' now from an ATM with a three dollar fee that we don't even need to leave the car to secure? We do the same thing with food. Screw buying something on the shelf that looks real tasty for a dollar more when for what we're paying for our whole damn tab, we'll pay for one single evening out. With these cloudy contradicting ideals, it's no surprise that people would gamble. One to five dollars now - millions later. It's like light flirting and a bit of leading on now can possibly lead to an orgasm and a free breakfast later. It's a cost-benefit analysis issue.

What do I want anyway?

Shouldn't I be wishing for world peace or some other lofty goal with my hypothetical cash that will never come, due not just to the fact that I have never played but also the ridiculously sorry odds. And I know Nicolas Cage is not about to share his golden ticket with me either. These sort of questions are always striking reminders of who we really are at our core. Do I desire more riches to go with my riches? Do I want to invest in the future? Do I want to ask the genie for three more wishes with my first wish as a way to be clever and try to trick the system? I like to eat, however I don't think I could dine on a fifty dollar a plate or more meal. It still gets chewed for the same amount of time and leaves our bodies the same as something that costs one-fifth as much. What is one oceanic voyage, one evening, one meal or a one million dollar night with Demi Moore's character in Indecent Proposal really worth?

Maybe my value system is askew. I own less than five pairs of shoes, two pairs of jeans, and one measly disintegrating belt. My thoughts do run to all of the travels I would like to have, all of the views I would like to see, all of the tours I would like to avoid for the back alleys and by-way ventures into the real places that exist past all of the tourism, but I don't know if I should wish lottery upon myself anyway. Aren't lotteries always a little bit more than you bargained for affairs? Monkey's paws. Visions of the draft. That sort of thing. When you get down to it, I guess lotteries are shite.

Cash money is awesome, though. Sure, I wish for certain things, but have found lately that I want for very little. Many of the most important ingredients are already in place in my world and the broth that is cooking is full of the flavors I like.

So, what do you want?