Back to work

So my five days of freedom are over, and it's back to work tomorrow. Kathy has been buying lottery tickets every week, and lately she has picked up the pace, eyeing the giant jackpot that has built up over the past months. Being the eternal optimist, she will keep collecting tickets, always in search of the dream. Did you ever know anyone who won a lottery? By all accounts, their lives are ruined, they lose all their money--they really don't find true happiness. See? So who wants to win anyway?

In 1988 I went to my 20th high school reunion. We were a strange group, I guess. It took us 20 years to have our first reunion, and attempts at a 25th fizzled. I supposed we were just curious about each other briefly. We checked some people out, gauged our success against theirs, and went away satisfied that we really didn't have to see them again. So anyway, back to the point. There was one guy there named Tom. He was a quiet, unassuming character, pleasant enough I imagine, though I didn't really know him that well. He played center on the football team--he was a round solid object, so that made sense. It turns out he was also centered in another way, content with himself.

Of course we were curious as to what professions we had all signed on to, and what career paths we had wandered onto and off of. Tom was a little circumspect about that whole career thing. He didn't really do anything apparently. Finally it came out that he had won the New York State Lottery a few years before and so he didn't have to work. I don't think it was a huge strike, maybe only four million or so. He didn't make a big deal about it because he was leery of people seeking handouts. His strategy? He and his wife had spent something like $100 a week on lottery tickets for a year and it paid off for them.

So I hope that Kathy and I will be as mature and understated about the whole thing once we strike it rich. No "taking this job and shoving it", no "nyah, nyah-I don't have to do this anymore", no demands for ring-kissing. We'll just anonymously slip away and live on Grand Cayman. Oh wait, I just revealed the secret plan! Or did I?