Lotto Luck

You know, normally when someone else wins the big prize in the lottery I wish them a slow, painful, lingering illness that will eventually end in a cure, but not until all of their winnings are gone. Usually, it is won by a recently retired lawyer that is downsizing in order to reduce the amount he spends on wages for the help. Who doesn’t want to see a lawyer dead?

Yesterday, 18 workers at Smart technologies in Ottawa won the $7,000,000 grand prize. That is pretty sweet! What makes it even sweeter is that they were told on Wednesday that they would be laid off, some as early as September. The layoffs come due to a cost cutting measure by the company that is moving that division to Mexico.

So, 18 of the 200 workers have a reason to celebrate. Good for them! I feel for the other 182 workers that still have to find other employment in what is an already tight job market. It is never a good time to be looking for work, but when 181 of the other applicants have the same or better qualifications, the situation really sucks. When you factor in the luck or lack of luck that had you in a different lottery pool, things get a trifle worse.

Can you imagine how the guy feels that made a conscious decision to join another group because “These losers couldn’t pick a winning number if it were in their nose”! Hey, everything always happens for the best and who knows what good things are coming towards you from just around the corner? With your luck it will be the party limo with 18 of your former co-workers. Louise says that I shouldn’t rub it in to the guy that didn’t win and I am just being mean. She is right of course, but she loves me and must think that somehow this will get back to that poor guy. Sorry if it does buddy, but I am just kidding around. Oh, and I am a bit of a jerk.

I have been buying tickets for many years now, and have come to grips with the fact that I may never win a lotto jackpot. I am lucky in other ways. I have loving family, wonderful friends, my health...yadda-da... yadda-da... yadda-da! I would really love to win the lottery! I know, “Who wouldn’t?”, but I have it all planned out. I might even be generous. Well, generous...is. I picture myself as a happy little babbling brook of good fortune that would affect the lives of all those I pass by. Yeah, I know, I am babbling.

Please just let me know someone that wins! I don’t expect any money, because I understand that no amount that you gave would be enough. Just buy me a coffee every now and then and tell me what you are doing with your new found good fortune. I hope that you are fulfilling your dreams and are now able to pursue dreams that were beyond you before.

I am pretty happy now, and I am not sure that an influx of cash would change anything. I wouldn’t mind trying... So congratulations to those 18 workers at Smart Technologies, and Smart technologies you should be ashamed of yourselves for putting profits ahead of people.

Why? Why? Why?

I think that it is time that I explained myself.

I am not doing this blog because I have anything momentous to say that hasn’t been said a thousand times before. I don’t believe that I have any special insights that might help solve the world’s problems. I am not doing this because I think I am especially clever (well, sometimes).

I am doing this first and foremost for myself. It is kind of like self therapy and not at all like self surgery. I find I am a happier person doing this. I find that the more I write, the more I remember and hopefully the better I get at it. Ultimately, even though they don’t read this, I am writing for my children and their children. Not to pass on any wisdom (God forbid!) but so that they might use this as a window into what made me who I am. I wish there were more things that my mom and dad had written. I just knew them as mom and dad, not Barb and Art.

I hope that whoever reads this finds it funny, odd, enlightening, entertaining or just a good way to pass a few minutes every day. I have been wondering if I will run out of things to write about (I bet you have too), but so far, so good.