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July 1, 2003 Over the last few weeks my wife and I have been playing Pepsi's win-a-billion contest. We drink a lot of Pepsi so we just accumulate all our caps, go to Pepsi's website and enter in the code on the inside of each one. Hey it passes the time and it’s more engrossing than network T.V. I know that the odds of winning are minute at best, but there's a small part of me that is hoping and praying that we don't win. That's right I said it and I'll say it again. There's a small part of me that hopes we don't win the billion dollars. Let's be honest that's probably the more realistic expectation where the contest is concerned. I realize the obvious benefits of becoming an instant billionaire, actually I think that you get $250,000 a year, before Uncle Sam gets his chunk that is. All the bills would get paid off, we would never want for anything, we wouldn't have to work, we could commit crimes and get away with it, and the list goes on and on. Still have you ever imagined how much of a pain in the butt it would be to be an instant billionaire? Because of the publicity surrounding the contest you'd be an instant celebrity, so good bye privacy. Everyone would know that you were rich so a constant herd of former friends, acquaintances and hangers-on would be crawling out of the woodwork. You'd get a call from the guy who sat behind you in the third grade wanting to borrow money. The girl who wouldn't go out with you in high school would all of a sudden realize what a mistake she had made and the sister of a cousin of your roommate your sophomore year in college would contact you about a wonderful investment opportunity. If you want proof as to how much of a burden new found wealth can be, look at what has happened to past lottery and prize winners. I can’t give any specific names but from what I've been able to find a great many lottery winners blow their winnings and end up in the same boat as they were before if not worse. Also, instances of divorce are very high among people who have won large amounts of money and it's been reported that entire families have been torn to shreds by joining the ranks of the nuevo riche. I remember watching the game show "Tic Tac Dough" when I was in elementary school and seeing the all time money winner to that point, that would have been the late seventies, rack up an unheard of amount of money and goodies. I don't remember his name just that he was a naval officer and after he was finally beaten and faded into obscurity that dealing with all this new found wealth caused him to have a nervous breakdown. He had taxes to pay on all that stuff. He had several cars to either sell or maintain. He had several trips to take and I don't doubt that he had to deal with a lot of people showing up with their hand out. It was just too much to take and you have to wonder why rich and famous people act the way they do. Are they really self absorbed, arrogant and shallow or does the wealth and notoriety drive them to it.
Regardless of my initial hesitation should
we win the billion rest assured we'll accept it.
In fact we've made up a little list, as I'm sure
a lot of other people who have entered the
contest have been doing, of things that we want
to do if we win the jackpot. |
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