The day America did not go to bed early

The night of Jan. 13th, 2016 America did not go to bed early; most people stayed up till 11 pm waiting for the Powerball results. The excitement of being a billionaire overnight was hard to resist, so I too did buy a ticket. I too stayed up till 11 pm with my fingers crossed, hoping to claim the $ 1.5 billion that would come my way, that is — if I won. That sort of money would buy me a lot of things!

While this fervor lasted I experienced new feelings. The $2 ticket gave me the liberty to dream of -owning a tesla, a bungalow in Los Angeles, and of course a better life for my family that would be free from student loans and mortgages, and decided I would help people who had helped me through my tough times. I made a secret list of ‘to dos and, to buys’ . . . the list was growing longer every minute. It put me through an excitement which I thought had long ceased to matter or affect me anymore.

Would I be lucky enough! I watched experts on TV explaining that the odds of winning a lottery was almost equal to being hit by lightning: I was elated. My house had been hit by lightning a few years back, so would I be as lucky on this gamble too? But I wasn’t. Neither were millions like me who spent $2 to buy a dream.

My account is now less by $2, but I am not sad. I got full value for my money. That $2 gave me the liberty to dream of things I would not think about in normal circumstances. It gave me something to hope for and while it lasted, I had a vision of the power of money and what it means to people like me and why we continue to buy lottery tickets.