The $240 million question

There's this cruel, cruel thing called the lottery, which is currently up to $240 million for the Powerball drawing. Your chance of winning is similar to the chance you'll wake up with the plague and be hit by a bus that was hit by lightening that was attracted to a meteor falling from the sky.

But, we are buying a ticket anyway.

Why? Because to a journalist, to the product of a single-parent family, to the woman who'll be paying off student loans for the next 30-odd years, $240 million seems like a dream. I can't even fathom what I'd do with $1 million. $240 million. Get real.

We posted a story and video about it on The Northwestern's site and a Talk question on the forum we have, asking what people would do with $240 million. I sat down and answered my own post (someone asked what I'd do with the money -- click the link above to see my answer).

It was frustrating coming up with the list -- new car, new house (hired movers to do all the heavy lifting ... and light lifting, for that matter), new clothes, newly paid off debt, a pimped-out crate for the dog (kidding), maybe some more books. And charity. I'd give some. And no, I don't think I'd keep working. And yes, I'd travel. And no I wouldn't move to Florida (alligators and heat) or California (too far away, no snow). No, I wouldn't paint everything gold.

And I could just go on and on. Anyone could.

That's the problem; at the end of the day, we'll all go home hundredaires (if we're lucky) instead of millionaires. And that's that. Just another day.

But dang, wasn't it fun to dream while it lasted.