Do you feel lucky?

Are you one of those people who find money in the pockets every time you do the laundry? I'm not talking change, I mean real money. Like dollars, a five, ten or even twenty. Or maybe you're a champion at Bingo? Do your friends refer to you as having a lucky streak a mile wide?
No? Me neither.

Still, chances are you've probably scratched off an instant ticket or two hoping to win an extra buck, right? I mean who hasn't? The whole idea of winning a pile of money is thrilling and for a few seconds...anything's possible.

Somebody's gonna win. Why not you? Regular people hit it big all the time. You've heard the slogan, "You can't win if you don't play."




And this past week ended with three ordinary people holding the numbers to the largest lottery jackpot in history. MegaMillions reached a staggering amount of 656 millions dollars!

Life will never the same.

Dreaming of winning the lottery is fun. Like any other daydream, the idea of actually spending that kind of money regardless whether you accumulated it from selling pet rocks or inherited a gold mine from an uncle you never knew exisited. Newly-minted multi millionaires (a title I learned only today) are made all the time. For them, the possiblities of shopping for yachts, mansions and jewels are limited only to the imagination. And let's not forget; with the cash comes power.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Go figure.

I did buy a lottery ticket. In fact, I bought severeal. Okay...more than I should have. But we're talking alot of money here. Greenbacks that could change my life. And the lives of my kids and their kids and their kids.

And...I didn't win. Do I feel lucky? You bet. I like my life and my simple routine. Besides, the reports are already predicting what's being called a Mega-Mess. Arguments are brewing in Maryland between the co-workers from a McDonalds and an employee who supposedly bought the winning numbers. Rumors they all pitched in to buy several lottery tickets. And afterwards she purchased her own, the ticket that won.

Other experts predict that the chances of bankruptcy are much higher for those with an unlimited line of credit. And so I have to wonder...is it possible to lose the windfall as fast as it came? Could all the splurging, buying and searching be for...what exactly? The elusive thing that will change one's life for the better? We all know money can't buy happiness. I mean the true, happy-ever-after stuff doesn't come from a store or salon or even from another person. And wealth can be a value we place upon ourselves. Our health, our home and our heart. Rich, you bet.

And dreams...well, dreams are just that. A soft, foggy feeling you experience moments before you drift off to sleep in your loved ones arms.