The Lottery: Is It Really Worth It?

From time to time when I'm trying to buy something at a convenience store, I'm stuck behind what can best be described as a lottery addict.  We had one here some years back who would frequent this one Circle K, stopping there on a Sunday morning, and getting fifteen people or more backed up behind her because she wanted to run thru a whole stack, I'm guessing a hundred of them, to see if she won anything.  And I'm sure that winnings, if any, were used to purchase lottery tickets for the next drawing.  Her husband would stand by with this pained look on his face, probably not being able to afford very much fun things in their retirement because his wife was a lottery addict.  

I don't go to that store any more, due to a different reason, but a week or so ago I got behind another lottery addict.  She had a 3/8 inch stack of scratcher tickets, and I put down my items and walked out because I don't like having to be behind people with obvious gambling problems.  And now that I'm writing this, I'm going to bring up one other anecdote.

While I was in Las Vegas and working for Bigelow Aerospace, one of my more strange co-workers told us during the morning break that he was going to spend $160 on Powerball tickets that weekend.  Strange as it may seem, Nevada state law does not allow for a state-run lottery even though nearly every other form of gambling is legal.  So when the Powerball jackpot gets big, many of the residents of Trashcan will drive down to the California Lottery store just over the state line across from Primm.  Others will drive over to Dolan Springs AZ.  Anyway, when my co-worker told us this, I had a response.

"Why don't you write out a check to the lottery and mail it in?  You won't have to spend all that time driving down there and waiting in a long line, and besides, the result is going to be the same."  He just looked at me like I told him I had lunch with Elvis Presley on board an alien spacecraft in orbit around the planet Mars.  Needless to say, he didn't win the jackpot, as that he was back at work the following Monday.

Anyway, I got to thinking about the lottery, that is, the Powerball, the Megamillions, and the Arizona state lottery.  I have no recollection of ever buying a Powerball ticket or anything like that.  In years past I would buy scratcher tickets if I was out of state, so that I could have a souvenir of my visit, but I haven't done that in many years.  One reason I don't play Powerball is, is that some chump is going to win the jackpot and I won't be that chump.  A second reason is, that when I once worked out what the return would be on California scratchers when they started out in 1985, I figured that for every $100 you spent on scratchers you could expect to get $23 back.  Their lottery said that 50% would be paid out in prizes, the schools would get most of the rest, but half of that 50% was going to to subsidize the jackpot.  That's not a very good return.  And the first two jackpots went to an illegal alien and a welfare recipient who blew his entire check on the lottery.  

Now let's look at what happens to some winners.  If you google "lottery horror stories", you're going to get a lot of results.  Read thru them sometime.  There have been broken marriages, homicides, bankruptcies, and all sorts of bad things happening to jackpot winners.  Is it worth it?  Many of the winners wish they had never played in the first place.  Their lives did not change for the better.  

Now let's look at something else.  If you win the jackpot, do you really think that your life is all of a sudden going to get easy?  At that point, you become known, even if you try to hide it.  You will get hit with all sorts of people wanting handouts, and many of your family members and other relatives will turn against you if you don't share your money with them.  Sure, you could buy them houses and Cadillacs, but will that be enough for them?  

In my view, it isn't worth it.  A sudden influx of wealth will bring you all sorts of problems you're not prepared for, and repeated attempts to buy your way out of those problems can leave you in a position that was worse before you bought that ticket.

Call me insane if you want to, but the one reason why I don't play the lottery is that I don't want to the problems that come with winning the jackpot, and I'm not going to be foolish enough to think that I would be immune to those problems.  The way I see it, I am a blessed individual.  I got to do the things I most wanted to do.  I got to meet the people I most wanted to meet.  I have a neat wife, a nice house, and lots of simple pleasures.

In other words:  I have already won the jackpot, and I'm not going to trade that for the other jackpots that are out there.

If you wish to spend money on the lottery, that's your business, even if you're not one of those lottery addicts I described earlier.  If you become one, you need help, and if you win that jackpot good luck with that because you're going to need it.  

As I said......in my own way, I have already won the jackpot.

Our First Road Trip, Post-Retirement

On Tuesday of last week Sheila and I took to the road, expecting to be gone anywhere from five days to one week, and largely making it up as we went along.  We knew that the Petrified Forest National Park was going to be one destination and we knew that we would take scenic routes to get there.  Destination for night number one was Globe AZ, which I've passed thru before but did not stop.

We took AZ77 up thru Oracle (getting off to drive its main drag), with a stop in Mammoth to check out some lots that were for sale.  Sheila wants some property outside of Tucson, which I'm sympathetic to but for me it has to be a great location for ham radio.  There was a lot in Mammoth which would have been great, but it wasn't buildable due to terrain.  We eventually found ourselves in Globe, where we had a nice meal at Irene's Real Mexican restaurant.  Well, I liked the meal..........Sheila didn't like the enchiladas.

The next was a drive over to Show Low, thru some really awesome scenery, especially that of the Salt River Canyon.  Show Low is a candidate location for a second home, but its drawback is the awful traffic they have there.  From there it was up to Snowflake, which was checked out.  Snowflake looked more like a town in Oregon than in Arizona.  To me its drawback is the distance from Tucson, because I would want to be in a place I can get to within a day.  

After Snowflake it was on to Holbrook, where we put down for the night.  Holbrook reminded a lot of Needles CA.  Both out in the middle of nowhere, both with historic US 66 running thru the main drag, and both where you stop for only one night before you continue on.  The major difference is Petrified Forest National Park, which I visited once in 1986, but something I wanted to see again.  That place has some scenery that you just can't get tired of looking at.  We plan on going up there again sometime within the next six months.

We knew that when we left Holbrook, that we would take in the Four Corners monument.  We also knew we would do that after stopping somewhere for the night.  That stop was in Cortez CO.  In retrospect we maybe should have stopped in Shiprock NM, but we had reservations in Cortez.  The drive gave us lots of scenic formations to look at.  As for Cortez, I think of it as a decent place to stop, and maybe on a future trip we'll stay there again.  The next morning, Thursday, it was off to the Four Corners which was something I've wanted to see since high school.

Four Corners is way out in the middle of nowhere, but if you have an appreciation for southwestern scenery like I do then you'll enjoy the drive there.  There were a lot of visitors there.  As I was standing in line waiting my turn to stand at the quadripoint, it was weird looking down and seeing one foot in Arizona and the other in New Mexico.  I got my picture taken (Sheila did not want to be photographed), and then walked around in all four states some.  The decision had been made the night before to drive to Flagstaff, and again I loved the scenery that the Navajo Nation had to offer.

I can't say that I liked that section of US 89 some eighty miles north of Flag.  That was pretty desolate and there was a lot of traffic.  Flagstaff was something of a madhouse on Friday afternoon at 2:30, and I'm sure being near Northern Arizona University didn't help.  We stayed at a Quality Inn and loved being within walking distance of a Himalayan restaurant.

After that it was the drive home, not made pleasant by the Phoenix metro traffic, but at least it moved.  I was worn out something fierce the next day and now I am enjoying retirement at home.

I took lots of pictures on this trip, but I'm not sure that posting them here would do what I saw any justice.  I would have to download them from my phone, and right now the "to do" list in my planner has ten items, and I'll settle for getting three of those knocked off the list tomorrow.  I'm also going thru papers here; sorting, filing, shredding, organizing..........a lot has built up and the next challenge is to live long enough to see everything done.  

That said, retirement is great.  I can take an afternoon nap anytime I want to.  I can get up at 3:00 AM and go on the air.  And now I've got time to work on some family history.  I want to get additional pages up, and get caught up on email.

With that, time now to call it a wrap.

Out.

Retired!

Last Thursday I officially retired, separating in the morning as that last minute things come up, which they did.  The previous night was a bit rough with a family member needing an ER visit and I was short on sleep that night.  I popped awake at 4:15 AM, and thought I  might as well get this day out of the way.  There was some confusion about the process.  And it wasn't a great week for my boss, as that he lost two other engineers to other departments and only one of the seven offers outstanding were accepted........and he lost that person to another department.

I was not prepared for how tired I was going to be that day.  I knocked off two naps of about one hour each, and I was still dog tired after that.  My body clock is still waking me up around 4:30ish.  No big deal, I can take all the afternoon naps that I want.  That time of morning is great for ham radio as that I can get Japan and Australia on the lower frequencies, and I've been on the air quite a bit.  

As for regrets..........only one.  I should have added one more "gripe" to the exit survey that I begrudgingly filled out.  I did complain about the unsafe drivers that we have working there, and about how some managers spring the "Friday Surprise" on you ten minutes before you start what you think is going to be a weekend off.  I did remember to point out that managers who spring this on  you still get to watch their kids' soccer games or go skydiving while you have to explain to an angry wife about why you can't make that day trip to Patagonia.  

Well, the "Friday Surprise" was an almost weekly occurrence when I was at Paragon Space Development, which has struggled with high turnover in addition to business volatility.  Almost everyone I knew there has since also left, so I have no idea what's really going on there any more aside from noticing that they are hiring again.  I'll pass; I'm done with manned spaceflight.  

Which I guess now begs the question, am I done?  I won't say that I am.  All I know is that I am taking the next six months off, and I may or may not seek a part time position as a consultant after that.  The pay for that is really well, and one former employer has unofficially spoken to me about part time work.  I am in the financial position of not really needing the extra money but I can see having to feed the travel appetite somehow.

As for retirement itself, I don't feel "retired" just yet.  That might change this evening as I go out on the back patio with a radio and a cold drink, and tune in those distant stations on the AM band, and knowing that this time I can stay up as late as I want to.  Tuning in to distant stations is what got me into my career field many years ago, and I'm going to have to tell that story sometime.  

And as I'm making this transition, there are some things I have resolved to do.  One, get a gym membership going.  Two, start eating better (that starts today).  Three, go out on walks a lot more often, which heat advisories as of late have constrained that.  But, it's cool enough around sunrise to do that, and the dog likes going out on walks too.  I think the dog and cats are going to like my retirement maybe even more than I will.

One important point I want to make.  This is not an end.  It is a beginning.  And I pray for health.