The agony of Mega Millions defeat

Wouldn't that be something?

So begins some of our greatest daydreams. It's a phrase my grandmother sometimes used when thinking of something too big to be true. In one form or another it's a thought that goes through all our heads when we buy a lottery ticket for a jackpot that has over 300 million to 1 odds of us winning. We know this going in. We know we're not really going to win. Yet we also know that someone eventually does, and we know that same person had that same realistic thought. Yet they win. So we play.

Wouldn't that be something?

It's a good feeling. Sure it's a slim to none chance at $1.6 billion we were buying in the last few days. But more than that it was a fantasy we were buying. As long as we had just one ticket, as remote and ridiculous a possibility it was, we still had a possibility. It's the daydream we're actually buying. It makes us feel good for a few days to imagine life without the pressure and one in which you could make so many other people happy or well or whole again along the way. Because that my friend, would indeed be something.

In the days leading up to Tuesday night's drawing we did what we often do. We took callers one hour (along with their contact information) who wanted a small slice of our potential (ridiculously remote potential) win. We promised $2 million to each on-air caller who told us some of what they'd do with the money. The losing tickets pictured are mine by the way, just so those listeners know I really did play. They are wrinkled because at first I crumpled them and threw them away, then thought I should show some proof that we actually are buying these when we say we are. I feel especially bad for a woman who called in to say one thing she'd do with the money is to travel to Florida to see her father. She hadn't seen him in over 20 years, and only because of poverty. She lives paycheck to paycheck. Life in Jersey is hard and she's been caught in a bad place for a long time. Her story broke my heart. I would have loved to have made that call to tell her she had a plane ticket and lots left over. But at 302,575,350 to 1 odds it of course wasn't meant to be.

And that's okay.

About a third of the money we spend on Mega Millions goes to various good causes depending on the state in which we purchased the ticket. So it's best to consider your money a donation. Sure go and buy that dream, that fantasy, but know you're not going to win. Yet you are still helping someone out less fortunate in some manner. So another Deminski & Doyle lottery wish list comes to a close. I'm sorry we didn't win for you.

Then again, that was only Mega Millions on Tuesday night. There's still Wednesday night's Powerball drawing which is up to $620 million. We both have tickets for that.

Wouldn't that be something?

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