I’m a sucker for chance, an opportunity, the hope that I could easily fall into an obscene amount of riches, simply by luck.
Lottery Tickets–I don’t usually buy them. But if I happen to glance in their direction and start thinking about the fact that the winning scratchoff ticket simply has to be amongst the pile I’m staring at, well I’ll buy one. Somebody has to win. I might even go on a lottery ticket bender…one a time for a few days. Not blowing the mortgage, but not very smart either. Unless I win. That would make me smart.
Publishers clearing house/surveys with $$$ attached–Yesterday I got a household survey in the mail. It was going right in the garbage until the bolded words on the back caught my eye–YOU COULD WIN AN EXTRA $500…Not an obscene amount of money, but enough to get my “Somebody has to win,” mentality kicking…Same with publisher’s clearing house…there are moments when I’m filling those out that I truly believe old Ed will be standing on porch during the Super Bowl…
Slot machines–my first encounter with slots was when I was 20, visiting my college roommate in her home town of St. Helena, CA. We spent a week in Lake Tahoe, where, get this, there were slot machines in GROCERY STORES. Underage? No matter, it always took a few pulls before someone asked me for ID. After they saw my glazed eyes and the way I defended “my machine,” against a bossy ninety-year-old woman they would leave me alone.
While swimming in crystal clear Lake Tahoe, we caught a glimpse of a money clip–bulging with bills. We could barely rescue the thing and open it fast enough–you can imagine the images filling my mind…Reality was eleven dollars…that’s it. To us it wasn’t a bad take. Something for nothing…but I still think of that now. If only it had been stuffed with hundreds of hundred dollar bills…
We also took a trip to Las Vegas where for the first time I was made aware you could cash your pay checks in the casino–I knew then I would never trust myself to live in LasVegas. I’d literally lose my house…
Now, with the way publishing goes, I almost view getting my book published as winning the lottery. So much chance involved…yet, SO much work getting the book to the point it could ever be considered for publication. But still, as I fantasize about hearing the words “We sold your book to _______ publishing,” I can’t help thinking it will feel as though I’ve won the lottery. And I can’t wait.