Rich In Something

I bought tickets for the lottery the other day. You hardly need me to tell you about the historically high jackpot which had developed in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery. As of Friday, when three winning tickets finally brought an end to the mounting riches, it was at 640 million dollars. When the potential payoff is so high that even those who look down on lottery players buy tickets just in case, that's when I get involved.

I can convince myself that I have noble intentions. Some amount of the proceeds from lotteries will go to things like education, or to other worthwhile but underfunded areas of local government. The lottery in Arizona puts some towards the Game & Fish department, for which I have a soft spot in my heart. I would also be delighted to think that my purchase of a lottery ticket some kids are still learning the arts in a classroom instead of from the television.

Ultimately it's a selfish, avaricious act for me. Like anyone, I'd like to be rich. I don't know that for me it has to be millions or hundreds of millions of dollars. The simple definition of being rich may be that I would have more than enough of what I need. This is a definition that I am more inclined to accept than the one offered in "It's A Wonderful Life", which describes one's friends as the source of wealth. You can't buy things with friends.

Of course I didn't wind up winning the big lottery, or even the smaller state lottery which I bought a ticket for at the same time. I was surprisingly let down for something whose odds are so famously astronomical, and I hadn't even really gotten carried away with fantasizing about how I would fritter away the money (except for the imaginary purchase of a theater for the improv program I'm involved in). Well, I didn't get the money, but I do still have friends, which will have to be enough for now.