LottoMax
Some time ago, pre-virus, I had the most detailed dream about winning 50 million on the LottoMax. Obviously I hoped that after thirty-nine years of playing the same number but not winning a dime my dream would turn out to be a premonition, not just a dream. In my dream not only did I win but I had incredibly detailed things that I did after winning, all of which were based in the realities of my life.
Every time that the LottoMax shows as fifty million I rush to buy a ticket, and some times, tickets. Again tonight is fifty million so I bought my regular, so far useless, number and four more just in case. I thought if I won it would make for an amazing story that I had predicted winning in my dream so I thought that I better record it before winning or no one would believe me, so here goes, again pre-virus.
First was collecting my money. I lived in Belleville and had to go to the lottery office in Toronto so I called a local limo company, told them that I needed to go to Toronto to collect my cheque and that I would pay them as soon as I deposited the money. Off I went the same day. In my interview with the lottery corp I remembered the lady who won many years ago and in the interview she referred to her recently divorced husband and said "sucks to be you". I had the same thoughts when it came to my kids who abandoned me years ago, my daughter, Heather, twenty-seven years ago. Hasn't contacted me since and I have no idea why. I connected briefly with my son, Christopher, back in 2009, but not since. I did think that my five grandchildren hadn't done anything so they would certainly get something, mainly to help with university when they came of age.
When I came back to Belleville when I went to the bank (BMO) to deposit my big cheque I asked for a money order for a hundred thousand dollars payable to All-Together Housing who have helped me so much over the years. I had spent many hours working in their office on Victoria Street when I lived there so my memories of meeting with Bob Cottrell, the President, were very clear. He was very happy.
Next I found a corporate jet company near the airport in Toronto and booked a flight to Kelowna for the next day. I arranged the trip with the same limo company because I was going to pay them for the trip to Toronto, along with a generous tip. When I arrived in Kelowna I had booked a penthouse suite at the Delta Grand Hotel on the waterfront.
After checking in I contacted a Facebook friend who I had chatted with offering her a job if I won the lottery and she had agreed. She's a gorgeous blonde so there was more to it than just the job offer. She responded agreeing to meet me at the hotel. We had coffee and I offered her fifty thousand dollars a year if she worked for me, but I made sure that she understood that I meant really full-time. She would have to travel with me everywhere and be my personal assistant. I knew that she was divorced and had kids but they were older so she would need to find care for them when she travelled with me. I even remember that I told her that I expected her to dress in business attire, not jeans and a halter top, because she would be meeting with business people on my behalf and with my friends.
For my many, many friends that I made in the fourteen years that I lived in the Okanagan I called the local BMO branch and told them that I wanted fifty envelopes each with ten thousand dollars in hundred dollar bills in them. Then I booked one of the large conference rooms at the hotel for the following Saturday night. Somehow I also booked one of my favourite bands, the Foster Martin Band, offering them twenty grand to play my party. Then I did a post on Facebook telling anyone who knew me to contact a new email address about an upcoming party. Then I had my new assistant track down and contact every one of my friends that she could find, get their address and telling them that a limo would be picking them up for the party at the Grand, and that they would get a nice gift when they came. Everyone accepted, but asked what this was about? I told her not to tell them. Just come and they would find out.
My dream got a little weird at this point because I also had her track down some very famous actresses that I liked. First was Teri Hatcher for whom the invite included her teenage daughter, Emerson, offering her ten thousand dollars in addition to paying for her flights plus a week at the hotel for her and her daughter. Next was Sally Field who I always wanted to marry. I knew she was single and hoped for more with her. Next was Melissa Benoist, who plays Super Girl. Then there was Diane Lane, yet another woman I fantasized about marrying. Quite fittingly there were no men invited. Wonder why?
The night of the party came and everyone was curious as to what was going on. They also wondered why there was a security card standing next to a bunch of envelopers piled on a table beside the stage? With great fanfare my assistant announced my arrival. I'm not real clear on what time of year this all was but I think it was summer. All I know is that I was wearing a new powder blue suit so it must have been summer. The band was on stage behind me and I may have embarrassed them a little when I asked if I could play the drums with them in a song? No answer, although I doubted that I could drum anyway.
After the usual hellos I thanked them for coming and knew they all wondered what this was about. First I introduced my special actress guests, telling them to give them space and not to bug them for autographs, but that they were willing to take photos with them later. I then told them that I had won the fifty million dollar LottoMax and that was what the party was about. But there was more. I called out the name of my first, and best, friend, Wade Silver and asked him to come to the stage. I gave him a hug and one of the envelopes that were beside the stage. I asked him not to open the enveloper until I said so. Then one by one I announced the name of each of my friends and gave them an envelope, again telling them not to open it. When all the envelopes were given out I asked Wade to come back on the stage. I again warned everybody not to open their envelopes for security reasons, but to write their names on the envelopes if the names were not already printed on them and give the envelopes back to the security guard so that they could dance, eat later and enjoy the party. I asked Wade to open his envelope and tell everyone what it was and how much was in the envelope, which he did, to delighted gasps from the crowd. My twisted sense of humour came out when I told the crowd that their envelopes could have much less money or be stuffed with blank sheets of paper, again to gasps but not happy ones. After the laughter subsided I told them that I was kidding and that they all got ten grand. The reason it was in cash was so that they did not have to pay tax on it which they would have if I gave them cheques. The security guard would give them their envelopes when the limos arrived to take them safely home. I also told them that I had booked a number of rooms if they wanted to stay. My assistant had told them to come prepared if they wanted to stay free in the hotel.
That's pretty well where the dream ended. Since the night of the dream I've added a lot of things I would do now, such as fund the projects in Mexico that I detailed on my website, JustADollar.com.mx. I planned to buy a house in Ajijic, Mexico and one in Kelowna, figuring that I would spend the winters in Mexico. My buddy, Wade, has his marine certification so I planned to get some sort of big party boat, better than the monster one he owned for a time, so we could all party on the lake all summer. I would also try to resurrect my affordable housing project, Heritage Homes, that I had worked so hard on, but that Rich Coleman, the provincial housing Minister at the time, had destroyed. I would invest five million dollars of seed money to encourage the others to invest as they had agreed originally.
I would hopefully also find somewhere to build one of the homes that I designed. I also hoped that the land on the far side of the lake was still available to build the four housing units I had planned back when I was in the Okanagan. One of the units in each was for Wade, Mike and me back when we were all single. The one on the beach was all for vacation rentals.
Now if only my dreams could come true.
