Luck

I don’t buy lottery tickets anymore because I never seem to win. But I still participate in the lottery. Here’s how:

I have a tendency to pick up discarded lottery tickets, in the hopes of finding a winning ticket someone has lost or thrown away. Within the last year, I found two unused scratch-off tickets, one of which, when scratched, was a winner, albeit for only three dollars.

Another found ticket had been purchased for $20 by someone and the ticket gave the purchaser ten chances to find a winning poker hand of Jacks or better. The better the hand, the higher the prize. Apparently the purchaser was looking for a full house or straight flush for a big payoff and overlooked line seven, which contained two Jacks. I collected five dollars on that one.

When I find an unscratched lottery ticket, and it turns out to be a non-winner, it causes me to reflect on the definition of luck. Was it unlucky for the purchaser to lose the ticket and was it lucky for me to find it? In both instances the ticket was a loser, so if there was any luck involved, it was not good luck.

Whether I find any more winning tickets or not, at least I’ll be content with knowing they cost me nothing. And I benefit from the exercise of bending down to pick them up.

I get the same exercise benefit from stooping to pick up a coin, plus the added satisfaction of having real money in my pocket.

Beats joining a health club.