Fred and I were discussing what we would do if we won the lottery. Why? Shoot. I don’t know. When Fred does buy a ticket, he never gets even one number right!

But, it’s fun to dream!

As we understand it, the lottery might pay (after taxes) anywhere from $228 million and up. A lottery cash win of even $5 million would even be overwhelming.

Would people give much of it away? Or would they blow it on so many crooked schemes that it would soon be gone? Or might the lucky one foolishly hoard it in piles like Scrooge McDuck? (He kept his money in a room where he swam in it!)

I polled my Facebook friends. Here’s what I learned.

Practically every living soul would share it with family. It was an almost unanimous opinion. Therefore I will leave that choice out.

I immediately could see that this amount of money is incomprehensible to us all. The respondents related mainly to their “comprehension” of what having “a lot of money” might be.

Drucella would give some of it to her local church. She thought that she might splurge and redo her bathroom. Splurge and redo her bathroom! What? She could build a Taj Mahal. 

Dave, Charles, and Meribinda would give much of it to Saint Jude’s. Dave added that he would keep his mouth shut if he won. Blabbing gets the winners in trouble, no doubt. How many of us could actually keep this immediate deluge of dough to ourselves?

Matthew would pay his bills. He would finance his kid’s college or give a down payment on a house. A DOWN PAYMENT on a house?? $200 million? See, we don’t comprehend.

Joan said she sure wouldn’t give any of it to me!

Besides her family, Cheryl replied that she would give to mental health care and research. Good one! But to whom would one give that amount of money where trust and proper management could take place? One would have to set up a committee, an overseer.

Sue would give big tips to waiters and service people. Wouldn’t that be fun? Gary said he would pay off his bills, build his parents a senior-friendly home, start a scholarship or two, and buy a couple of vintage motorcycles. Gary understands. He is getting warm.

William would buy a house to donate to the Veterans’ Administration and/or to Hospice care. He would give 10 percent or more to charity. Let’s see, if we operate on the premise of $223,000,000. That would be $22,300,000. Yikes! He would most likely divide that up among many charities?

Paying off debt to be able to farm without an operating note, and giving to their farm employees a great, much deserved bonus is Cari’s plan. Once these employees became millionaires, they might quit their jobs. Just a thought.

We still don’t get it. I certainly DON’T realize what this amount would compute to be in my head. Maybe a million, but 223 of those millions?

Brad thinks that after giving to the church and missionaries, paying off debt, etc.,  that he would hopefully be able to retire and have enough to live on and pay for health insurance. Health insurance? He could employ his own private physician! 

Janet would give to the church and pastors anonymously. I think the town would catch on quickly. But, it’s a good thought that any of us could be anonymous! She hopes that she and her husband could be on the same page regarding how to use this windfall.

Rebecca would set up a trust for her family, give to the local museum’s endowment, capital fund drive and collections care. Now this girl knows how it works. I don’t even know what a capital fund drive is! She would give to the Humane Society as well. 

Michael added that in regard to giving to church organizations, he has become disillusioned. He’d hope that the money would go to help people and not just build buildings, fly airplanes, and drive fancy cars. 

Jolene would build small little homes and make them affordable to rent or own to low income families so that everyone could have a nice home in which to live. YES!

John would give to K-State, and leave it up to his wife to manage the family giving.

And then there’s realistic Kevin! He would buy new underwear and socks and he would throw out all the mismatched ones.

There! That ought to help us all to know what we would do.

No one mentioned getting a good lawyer, or putting the funds immediately in the care of a secure location. Why? Because none of us trust that there is a secure location or a place where it could be legally protected.

I guess we aren’t ready yet to win. How disappointing. 

Judi Tabler lives in Pawnee County and is a guest columnist for the Great Bend Tribune. She can be reached at bluegrasses@gmail.com. Visit her website juditabler.com.