Poems

Power Ball Prayer

91 Comments

A strong argument can be made that winning a huge lottery jackpot is much more damaging than not winning one.

If, in fact, that’s true, then the losers are the winners and the poor saps who wound up with the choice tickets in the recent Powerball drawing are mere weeks, or even just hours away from being rewarded with the total destruction of their once-happy lives.

We have already met the earnest unfortunates who bought a winning ticket in Missouri. The soon-to-be tragic sufferer who bought a similar ticket in Arizona is still unknown, but we might have video of him celebrating in Maryland.

There are numerous examples of the sort of mayhem the sudden addition of mega millions can bring to an ordinary family. We already know gambling can become addictive and prolonged losing ruins good people. It appears winning can, too.

And yet folks continue to buy tickets, hoping that they will walk away with the most outrageous possible prize. Perhaps for those compelled to play, a short, expectation adjusting prayer is in order.

Now I buy me one more chance
I pray these numbers make me dance
Though not so much I play the fool
But just enough to keep me cool
With modest winnings I can spend
On things I won’t need to defend
Too small to get me on the news
But just enough for food and shoes
and something special for my spouse
and maybe to fix up the house.
I’ll dream of mega millions, Lord,
Though that’s more than I can afford.

When have you been better off to lose?

91 thoughts on “Power Ball Prayer”

  1. I have not very often had a way to know if I have been. The broken relationship at age 19 was certainly I was better off losing. Hmm?

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  2. Mornin’ baboons. Time to open the first window in the Advent’s calendar!

    Well, I don’t know that I’m actually qualified to answer this question. Since I’ve never won (at least not the lottery), I don’t know if I’m better off than I would be if I had won. Quite the conundrum. In a broader sense, I suppose you could say that you win some, and you lose some every day of your life. Thinking about it that way, I think of myself as a winner. There are so many more things in my life that are right than wrong that I can’t really think of what I have to complain about. I suppose it boils down to expectations; if you think you deserve more or better than what you have (health, looks, wealth, whatever), you’ll be unhappy. If on the other hand you recognize that your circumstances could be far worse, chances are you’ll appreciate what you have. Am I better off for not having Meryl Streep’s talent, or Einstein’s brain? Who knows? I do know I’d better off if I were to lose 30 lbs but this is hardly the season when that’s going to happen. I’m particularly mindful of that today as I’ll be attending my Danish book club’s annual Christmas luncheon at 1 PM. Skål!

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      1. I will, tim. It’s quite the feast. Skipping breakfast and just having coffee to be sure I have an appetite (as if that were ever an issue – snort).

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        1. we should look into the games night thing you mentioned, mine died a slow death.on a montly basis, not that many games people thank you linda for a coupel good nigt os backgammon and a couple fun sessions with bir and michael, donna, but all in all monthly game night is too much, soup and danes has an appeal

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        2. I think it turned out once a month was too often for game night. I’ll bet maybe twice a year, we’d get more people.

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        2. interesting herring options. i saw a show on scando cooking where they featured herring and it was interesting. i am not a knowledgeable herring guy at all. i recognise the vegetables shown in the pictures but cant find reference to them in the menu other than lettuce. i think id be a bit hungry at the end

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        3. Not a chance, tim, that you’d go hungry from the table. We sat down to eat at 1:30 PM, and it was 5:15 PM by the time we were ready to leave the table. The Christmas season has officially been inaugurated as far as I’m concerned.

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    3. i did the advent calander as a good catholic kid and loved opening the doors every morningbefore christams i have many such memories as a recovering catholic

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  3. after the weeks discussion on ever life and singing drunk and the pitfalls that are everywhere. i think maybe my luckiest miss was that of avoiding rock and roll in the 70’s. i likely would be in a different state of being today had i followed that path.
    i was back in minnesota after traveling the west in the old vw and i went to school at the u of m and studied art and music. and took classes at the west bank school of music (the cool place for music i thought) well the art was wonderful you cant really screw that up unless you go into art history but the music … geeze everyone wants to get so technical. i guess that is why they become music teachers i have coe to realize but i thought then they were odd people who thought music was about triads and augmented 7th and sycopated whatits and so i backed out and just did my own thing. my brother is a musical whiz kid (pauljonesmusic.com) and i worked as a tweaker for his band and turned manager only to discover my frustration with people not showing up for practice so i left the band and started my own. we were going to do the louge lizard scene and sing some of the old classics (scotch and soda,, fly me to the moon, cole porter, harold arlan, hank williams beach boys roger miller cat stevens bob dylan george gershwin, leneord bernstien,with favorites form jethro tull elton john jimi hendrix and cosby stills and nash.,i called the drummer keyboard arranger back form seatle, the guitart player back from texas, the other guitar player was local and so we four began the process and i was about to open the biz with a bang. i called the agent who was the number one guy and sold him on the vision before he ever heard us play and we had going machine but the first practice 1 guy showed up, the second practice 2 showed up and on missed for the second time. the third practice we finally got to practice and i realized i hated herding cats and trying to forge creative emotion and wonder form a bunch of burned out druggies who had no problems with excuses and reasons why they couldnt possibly be expected to attend all the meetings…. i had a friend in sales art the time who had been in the music biz, he was in the folkie era and was in line to be the replacement for chad mitchell in the chad mitchell trio when all that happened and instead was beat out by john denver, he was in a gorup called the four freshmen and alway smiled when the darlins played on andy because he knew those guys well. he said the music business is full of blood suckers who try to skin you and screw you and line their pockets and it takes the love out of music so i ditched the idea. i told the boys to go to seatle or texas or to go cry to their old aunt nellie but i was done with their lame poppycock lives and i would see them down the road. it could have been that i just chose the wrong guys and it would have been possible had i thought it through but that is not todays question is it? i think i would certainly have skyrocketed to stardom and done more drugs in more frequent doses in more backrooms and bars that would have changed the synapses that are now becoming more and more slow to react so that they didnt even recognize me.
    so here i am only sort of intact but better than what could have been for sure. long live rock and roll,…. without my addition. … so we tanned his hide when he died clyde and thats it hangin on the shed…. all together now … tie me kangaroo down sport , tie me kangaroo down

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    2. It’s not too late, tim. Drop all those business activities you are doing and get a band going. You can do it. Right?

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  5. Good morning. I applied for many jobs that I didn’t get and had a number of jobs that I left for one reason or another. A good long lasting job would have been nice. On the other hand just think of all the experiences I would have missed if had managed to find one good long lasting job. It’s probably a good thing that I didn’t get that job I applied for in Guam. I don’t think I would enjoyed moving there and living there, but I don’t really know that for sure. There have several jobs I lost where the person who let me go probably did me a favor. I did need to move on from being a lab technician and one of the people who let me go was a very bad boss and it was good not be under him any more.

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    1. My aunt and uncle lived on Guam for several years in the late ’70s. My uncle is an engineer and he built hotels in Hawaii; infrastructure on Guam, Palau, and Yap; built the University of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and helped to lay the Peacekeeper fiber optic cable across the desert near Riyadh – I think between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. They LOVED Guam and still visit. Their lives were so interesting. I was still young when they were there, so I got to learn about stone money and other interesting cultural tidbits.

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  6. It is impossible to generalize briefly about such a big issue. Much of my life has been about loss, and it is a terribly complicated issue for me. Some of my losses have greatly diminished the quality of my life. On the other hand, it is amusing and surprising to see how often a loss was actually a blessing in disguise. As soon as you start contemplating this matter the air becomes thick with cliches and dubious folk wisdom. I am not comfortable with those who whine about losses, for to be alive is to suffer loss, time after time. I am not more comfortable with those who deny the sting of loss with vapid claims like “what does not kill me makes me stronger.” It sure is true that we can reduce the pain of loss by responding to it with courage, humor and enterprise. It is no less true that loss hurts like hell, and sometimes courage, humor and enterprise are worthless to reduce the icy agony of a great loss.

    If I talked with total candor about the price of some of my losses, I could totally mess up this discussion. But why do that? It is a lovely day in December with genial temperatures and a restful, gray look. We are alive, friends, and there are cardinals bobbing on the branches outside my window.

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    2. someone reminded that it is all a balance. in order to comprehend crap you have to achieve wonderfulness.in order to eliminate loss all you need to do is never feel good in the first place

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  7. I’ve been a winner with a long and varied career for the state, but a loser in love. I had some early relationships but 99 percent of them were tales too sorry to tell. There was one guy with whom I was completely in love in the early ’90s. It’s possible that we were too similar – both guitar players and singers, both passionate about the environment and the natural world. We were younger and attractive then. I guess he wasn’t as in love with me as I was with him. He broke my heart when he left me for someone else. After that I had one more difficult – no, torturous – relationship which ended in 2001 and which helped me to face the fact that I’m a loser in love and that Mr. Right does not exist. Except for the one guy, I’m better off without a relationship and I’m content all by myself. So maybe I’m actually a winner!

    As far as winning a ton of money… no, that’s not for me. I do play the lottery, but not Powerball. When the Powerball jackpot gets huge, I play something else, like Northstar cash, which actually benefits our state. Sometimes I win a little cash. Once I won $500.

    So, I guess I’m a winner although some days I feel like a slave. I have a good home, a good job, I’m healthy, I have music and friends but no lover and no cash laying around anywhere. I’d rather have what I have than win half a billion dollars.

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    1. One of my thoughts on this question also turned to an old boyfriend who I thought I was madly in love with – and he me – we had talked of marriage and kids and many other things. It fell apart, which was devastating at the time and I now realize was for the best. Had I married then, I would also have a divorce under my belt (and probably an ugly one to boot), and that I think I can do nicely without, thank you.

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      1. When I think of divorce, I think of the words of the cowboy who got up on an untrained bronco and got thrown off into a patch of prickly pear. He hobbled out of the stickers and said, “Once of that is more than enough for me.” Same for divorce.

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      2. i liked the idea of the guy who said every time i think about getting married again i just go out and make a commitment to give a house and 100,000 dollars to a person i already hate. it saves all the anguish.

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  8. So I rise to greet the day,
    Hoping big $ will come my way.
    Who does not think a pot of $
    Will give a life of sweet rich honey.
    Who does wish they could know,
    Just how bad would be all that dough.
    Who would not plan do much good
    And share the wealth with all they could.
    Not would pass many moons
    Ere I would share with all the baboons.
    But forces much larger than we foresee,
    Would drive us close to insanity.
    But still, but still, I want the chance,
    To see if I could survive the dance.

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    1. I would also like the chance to see if I could handle getting all that money. It’s not going happen. I don’t buy any lottery tickets. If you don’t play you can’t win and If you don’t play you don’t throw away money playing a game that is stacked against you.

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      1. I don’t buy them either. Never gambled. But I wonder sometimes if the problems with winning the lottery isn’t sort of self-selecting. The columnist talks about how the winners do not know how to handle the money. But I suspect the very high percentage of those buying tickets are, by the nature of the gamble, of the type who cannot handle it. Several years ago they put lottery ticket machines in the lobbies of the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit. Their records showed that almost all the tickets were purchased at night when the building was locked. So they did a stakeout. Business people passed by the machines all day and never bought a ticket. Then the janitors came to work at night and they were the ones buying all the tickets. Nothing against janitors, I worked as one in three places and got to know them as a general type, not the type with the skills to handle large $. My wife used to work for a very successful doctor at the U of M medical school. He quit his large income practice because he said he had two full-time jobs: earning the money and managing the money, that is, not losing the money.

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    2. it amazes me that eveyone chooses the give it all to me now option. what if you had to take 20 pauyments of 50 million a year instead of all at once? somebodies gonna screw you up by not mailing it on the right date every year?
      i think clyde and jim would be ok with 100 million i dont know about the rest of us. i think it may mess us up.
      for anyone who would like an interesting side step in life. going to china to head up some international companies chinese division is an interesting and rewarding way to go. they are so screwed up in their thinking over there by american standards that they need responsible people to oversee operations and ride herd ont he programs they offer. i am thinking any baboon in the joint would be better than anything they could hire and try to hold onto over there. want 100 thou a year and a higher than average quality of life with interesting world viewpoint and position. ex patriots in china are highly thougt of an highly paid. if i had other circumstances i would gladly take a flyer for a couple of years and go right some ships for fun and profit. but i have enough fish to fry right her and if i click my heels three times and repeat… theres no place like home, theres no place like home

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  9. Grad school comes to mind. I was only accepted to one school for the MFA in Scenic Design/Tech Theater I thought I wanted. That’s tough on the ego – especially when that school is a small school in central Illinois and your best option for housing is a double-wide trailer. I had a bit of a panic attack late one night and decided maybe I shouldn’t go. It wasn’t really losing, but it was definitely not “winning.” I didn’t want to go to Illinois and wasn’t sure about grad school by then. I tried for Mankato, which would at least have been closer to home, but was not accepted. Maybe they recognized my lack of total commitment or maybe it was that the costume design professor didn’t like me (or so it seemed). No matter. My dream of an MFA died and I think I’m better off for it. I don’t think I have the personality needed to make the myriad sacrifices for a career in professional theater, and teaching at a college level would have had its own pitfalls (the latter was my ultimate goal, but I was already thinking on the difficulties of getting hired someplace, never mind finding my way to a tenure track position). Wound up with an oddball masters that I loved, even if it hasn’t directly won me jobs or accolades. It was a ton of fun and ultimately a better fit than my long-desired MFA.

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    1. Anything can happen, degree or no degree. You always hear that you need a college degree to get ahead these days. Some people might do better with a college degree. Not everybody. An MFA may not have been a good fit, Anna, or it might have been the right thing. I tried to convince some people that I would be good at a job that I didn’t get where they thought I had too much education. I am sure that job was a good fit for me. I got one job because the person who hired me was impressed with my level of education. Actually, life experiences outside of school were my main asset for doing that job and my degree was only a little helpful.

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      1. I think it came as a pleasant surprise to my current boss that I had a master’s degree. I had been hired as a contractor and started under a different manager (grand-boss), then my position got reorganized into a different team. When I applied for my current job, the (new) grand-boss finally saw my resume. He knew I had a penchant for grammar, but had no idea my undergrad degree was in anthropology (and theater) or that I had a master’s degree. I think he’s still not sure how I wound up working on web sites – but it certainly impressed him that I have all that “book learning.”

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        1. my wife is so much happier with herself since she got her mfa this last year it is amazing. congrats to all you academics. there is something to be said fer bokk lernin

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  10. OT: I was touring the world awhile ago on my collection of webcams. Opened a nearly live one (refreshes every 3 seconds or so) somewhere on the coast of Iceland, not sure where, cannot read Icelandic. There were things moving in the water. Suddenly a man in a swim suit walked right in front of the camera, down a path and dove in. I was watching people swimming in the ocean, or a bay of the ocean I think with snow on the land around them. The water was steaming, so I guess the water was warmed by hot springs.

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        1. I’ve spent a couple of long weekends in Iceland, and quite a bit of time soaking in the Blue Lagoon. I recommend it!

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  11. I’m much better off for having lost my last two jobs. My current job is exactly what I want to do with my life and my co-workers are amazing. I don’t dread going to work, I like hanging out with my co-workers after work, and I love learning new things every day. The only thing left that I need is enough money to not live paycheck to paycheck. I really need to pay off my loans, then I’ll be fine.

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    1. so other than the money your life is perfect. could be worse huh, no money and a job you hate would be real hell.
      glad you are happy. where are you these days? michigan to owatanna to somewhere else wasnt it?

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      1. Yep, I’m in Superior now. I got lucky 🙂 I got my dream job and I get to stay by the Lake. Now if only loans would disappear…haha

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        3. I work for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation as a civil engineer in design. Currently, I’m working on Belknap St (USH 2) through Superior. I love it because I’m learning from my project leaders, but I still get to do design. They also train me in pretty much anything I want to learn 🙂

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        5. here a coll ted talk on a guy who makes maps that i thonk you would enjoy. i have posted it before but the other baboons arent in the biz. you are.

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        7. I applied for the job, had 2 interviews, and got it 🙂 Wisconsin was hiring a lot of new engineers, but not many wanted to go to Superior. I prefer the north to anywhere else, so I was quite happy to accept this position.

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        8. Superior is such an interesting town with such an interesting history. Once vastly bigger, the legal town limits are huge. I got my master’s from UW Superior.

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        10. Thanks PlainJane! I’ve never heard that song before. Luckily, my mother didn’t push too hard for me to be a lady 😉 She would’ve preferred me to go for music, but she knew I was more likely to make money as an engineer.

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      2. i went through there a year or so ago and hwy 2 was torn up all the way from superior east for 50 miles or so. is that what you get involved in?

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      3. Alana, I think you should drop an roundabout right in front of the Anchor Bar. People regularly drive in circles in that part of town.

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    4. Thanks everyone! I read the blog far more often than I comment. I can read it on my breaks at work, but I can’t comment because of the internet restrictions. I usually don’t have time before or after work, but I try to keep up 🙂

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      1. get a smart phone. glad you are around. enjoy the real superior season coming right up. little breeze in the face will make your eyes water a different way

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    5. So glad persistance has worked out for you, Alana. My friend, Mike Mikkelsen, one of the smartest and most creative people I know, is nearing the end of his life. He has late stage Parkinson’s, yet faces each moment with unflinching courage; truly an inspiration. Mike has many sayings: “Percy got it!” is one. Whenever he succeeded in a difficult task, whether it was a stubborn bolt that would not come loose and finally did, or a more complicated task that he finally accomplished, he would smile and ask “Who got it?” The answer, of course: “Percy got it!” You keep at it Alana, sooner or later Percy will indeed get it.

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  12. Greetings! At the moment, I would love to try on the outrageous challenge of winning millions of dollars. I’ve fantasized and thought about it so much, each step I would take, the places I would donate, the foundation I would become, the businesses I would start, the people I would help, and yes, the wonderful stuff I would buy for me and my family, the vacations we’ve never had, etc. Although I understand that the change would be enormous, as the culture of money is very different than the culture of poverty. Bring it on I say! I would gladly lose the stress and heartache I’ve experienced the last 2-3 years. Despite everything, I am truly grateful for having such wonderful sons, a good husband, good family and friends.

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      1. Alas, no. Complications arose and at the moment, have no job, despite my efforts and their assurances of a seamless transition with 40 hours/week. A story I will not go into here. You can email me if you want the details. I have another possibility, but nothing for sure yet.

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  14. Rise and Shine Baboons!

    I lo e to fantasize about winning the lottery; however I just never buy a ticket. I think the beauty of the lottery is the fantasy, not the reality.

    I had my heart severely broken as a sophomore in college. He was my dream come true, handsome, rich, and dumb as a box o’ rocks. He broke up with me because his dad told him to. Thank you father Hanson. I dodged a bullet on that one. Mr. Right became a drug addict a few years down the road.

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    1. like that joke about the guy who prayed to god every week to let him win the lottery. every week and he started getting resentful about hi prayers being answered, he was a pious man a god fearing man he lived by the golden rule. finally god relented and came to the man and said. i need a little help man you need to buy a ticket.

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      1. Haha! Good one tim.
        So there’s this great storm predicted and people are urged to evacuate. Everyone does except this little old man.
        The rain starts coming down in buckets; streets are flooding and a firetruck stops at his house and tries to take him to shelter. He says no, “God will provide.” the man says.
        Soon the water has flooded his basement and he’s out on the porch. A rescue boat comes to the man and again, he says no, “God will take care of me.”
        The rain keeps coming, the water keeps rising and he’s up on his roof now. A helicopter comes to him. “No”, he says, “God will take care of me”.
        And he drowns. Goes to Heaven. Meets God and the man is rather angry and he tells God, “I believed in you; I trusted you would provide!”
        God says “I sent you a truck, a boat and a helicopter!”

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        1. send me a sign… oh never mind the hundred dollar bill i just found in my pocket means i dont need to ask for your help right now like i thought i did

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      2. I’ve always loved that joke, tim. It exemplifies a loose category I have of jokes that are essentially intellectual or philosophical in nature. The man who doesn’t buy a ticket but whines at not winning is a man who doesn’t understand “necessary” and “sufficient” in logic. It is not sufficient to be a winner to buy a ticket, but it is necessary. Otherwise you aren’t in the game.

        My dad was sort of like that. He had a deep belief that anything was possible in fishing IF he “had a line in the water.” In other words, if you were on shore drinking beer and admiring the sunset, you didn’t have a snowball’s chance of catching a fish. But if you were on the lake with a line in the water, the fish of a lifetime might come along at any moment. Sometimes I thought his ONLY plan for catching a fish was to “have a line in the water,” the necessary but not sufficient condition for success.

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  15. I buy a ticket on occasion, too. Not Powerball, though. Something with slightly better odds and smaller jackpots. No one pays much attention to the people who win Gopher 5 – no cameras, press conferences, interviews – but they still give away a lot of money, at least by my standards. I’m looking for ease rather than excess.

    Haven’t bought a ticket since maybe July or so. Maybe this week.

    A movie I liked that involved gambling was Owning Mahowny, with Philip Seymour Hoffman – a painful portrait of an addiction. Based on a true story. Rent it if you haven’t seen it yet.

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  16. Like Anna, I was going to go to grad school, in psychology. Didn’t get high enough marks on the Graduate Record Exam, would’ve ha to study up and take it again to apply. Looking back from this vantage point, it just wouldn’t have made me happy… though I still think about going to school in something every once in a while.

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