Ways in Which Winning the Lottery Would Change My Life

I am a pretty well-grounded person, generally, not prone to "what ifs." Life is what it is.

But, today, the chosen assignment requires dreaming about a "what if" that millions dream about-winning the lottery. So, venture into dreamland with me for awhile and see five ways my life would change if I won the lottery.

"Yay, I won, I won. I can't believe it. I'm soooo happy. I think I'm going to faint."

"Ann, what are you screaming about, asks the other half. "I WON THE LOTTERY," I scream.

"You've got to be kidding?" "No, it's true, it's true! Look at the number!" "Wow, I love you more than ever!" he says.

Okay, gotta get hold here. Get the ticket and hide it. Okay, that's done. Now, nonchalantly ask around for referrals for a lawyer and a financial accountant. Don't tell anyone about winning the lottery-keep it on the Qt. "Should we move first before claiming the ticket?"

The financial adviser tells me to set up a special account for the money and advises that after receiving the money, to transfer some of it to safe, conservative investment accounts.

We drive to Springfield to meet with the lottery officials. "Congratulations, Ann. We'd like to present you with this check for winning the Powerball in the amount of $400 million," the lottery official says. Flashbulbs are going off. The lottery official and I are holding a huge check-with MY name on it--between us. News reporters' cameras are flashing left, right, and center.

The money is wired to my special account. Now what? Oh, yeah.

Walk into the bank and pay off our mortgage, the mortgages on my family's houses and deposit some money in their accounts. Mail in checks to pay off medical bills and credit cards.

Put money anonymously in an account to the local church that inspires people with the joy of serving God and has a fantastic outreach program.

Now, it's time to SPLURGE! After selecting a new refrigerator, washer and dryer, carpeting, wood floors, new kitchen cabinets (display model, so they will be delivered the next day), and furniture, we excitedly make our way back home.

I call the carpenter the next day and arrange for installing our new kitchen cabinets and ask him to build an attached or separate, centrally heated and cooled shelter for our cats. He is out Johnny-on-the-spot the next day, and within a few days, we have our new cabinets installed. Within a week, our cats have their brand new shelter.

After about a week and a half, the other half says, "Ann, we are getting way too many phone calls and people stopping by wanting to borrow money. We are going to have to move." "Agreed," I reply. We start looking at houses, finally finding one in an area where people don't know us, but it's still close enough to friends and family that we don't have to drive very far. We also find vacation homes-one in North Carolina, and one in Tennessee. After installing state-of-the-art security systems in all three homes, we decide to get a couple of well-trained dogs, an indoor in-ground pool and exercise room for our home in Illinois.

After a couple of months, I'm bored with not doing anything productive.

I consult a lawyer experienced in non-profits about starting my own foundation. I explain to him that I want to help, not only the the poor, but the middle-class in the USA who have lost jobs-before they become poor. Too often, there is no help for the middle-class until they reach destitution. It seems hugely unfair that the people who paid the biggest percentage of taxes--the backbone of this nation--can not get help until they are destitute.

I explain to the lawyer that my plan is to connect with companies who will offer them on-the-job training. If companies can not be found to do this, then offer land to the poor and middle-class and teach them how to build a house and raise their own food and sell the surplus. Clothing would be provided for them. Contact Habitat for Humanity to see if they can help in building the homes-not just for the poor, but also for the middle-class. Families must be willing to relocate if jobs or land are unavailable in their area. Before helping them, carefully screen them to assure that these are people committed to making a better life for themselves--sober, hard-working, honest, and ethical individuals. What do I get out of this? Once they are employed and on their feet, a small fee, taken out of their wages should be forthcoming to my foundation to keep it going.

Besides my foundation, I also started a company to help people get viable, worth-while inventions off the ground. Kevin Costner is doing good work and earning money at the same time with his company that focuses on helping the environment. My plan is to help small companies get started--with corporations shipping much of the work overseas, small companies could provide much needed jobs.

Time to Relax. Well, now that I've accomplished all that, I'm feeling a little weary, so I think I'll drive home to my brand new house, wander into my brand new living room, and relax on my brand new sofa in front of my brand new big screen TV.

Hey, wait a minute-this looks like my old house. Okay, maybe, we just haven't moved yet. I walk inside towards the light in the living room.

There's my old sofa and my old 32" TV. Waah! Where's my new big screen TV? Where's my new sofa?

Suddenly, I realize--it was all just a dream.