12 - If I Won the Lottery

First of all, let's come to the understanding that if I am going to dream I won the lottery, it will be none of that $35.00 scratch-off stuff. If I am going to dream of how to spend lottery money, I am going to dream that I win the largest jackpot of all time, and while I am at it, I am the only one in the entire country who has the winning numbers. So, in this flight of fancy, let's assume that I have won $700,000,000.00; a nice even number.

What to do, what to do. First, I imagine that about $350,000,000.00 would go directly to Uncle Sam. That still leaves a rather hefty sum of discretionary funds. What is left would be spent as follows:

1. My church's debt retired plus $7,000,000.00 (10% of gross winnings).

2. Contributions to various ministries with Living Water and Wayne Reed Christian Childcare Center being at the top of the list.

3. Pay off all debts that any family members carried, including my children, our mothers and siblings. I suspect this would not really amount to much.

4. If my children wanted their children to attend private schools, I would set something up where their tuitions would be paid.

5. I would set a sum aside for my grandchildren, but they could not touch it until about age 30, and then only a moderate amount annually. Too much is more dangerous than too little, I believe, and the last thing I would want to do is suppress their hunger for productive lives.

6. I would offer the leaders of the Strong Tower Church a lot of money for the property where Otter Creek used to be. Then, I would buy The Purple Cow and give it to Dan and Debra, happily enjoying the knowledge that it was located next door to my home because, I would build three houses on the church property one for us and one for each of our children, if they wanted it. The old sanctuary I
would remodel and use as a venue for weddings, receptions, small retreats, without charge. The green common areas, I would have landscaped beautifully with lots of playground equipment. Can you tell, I have thought about all this?

7. I would find a house for rent in Sanibel or Captiva and rent it in perpetuity for the month of January. Or, better yet, I would buy The Sunshine Island Inn on Sanibel. It has been for sale for years. I would remodel it into 3 apartments, one for each of us, and I would offer it free of charge for people I know, especially young families who cannot really afford a vacation, but not in January. That would be so fun!

8. Some of the money I would put in an interest bearing account so that my children would not have to worry about our care as we age.

9. The rest of the money would be available for those who need it; young families, aging folk, homeless (I would love to build a tiny house community for housing the homeless as some money is spent creating jobs helping them afford their own homes), medical research, home repairs for those who cannot afford it, seed money for new and worthy businesses, the possibilities are endless.

Above all, I would try very hard to do all this anonymously. Of course, if you see three houses being built on the corner of Granny White and Otter Creek Road, you might figure it out.

Well, this was a foolish and fun exercise.

Day 12 - if I won the lottery - check