I scribbled down the numbers, got the ticket out, and then I think I passed out. I’m not sure but suddenly my head was on the table with a knot on it, so I’m pretty sure I passed out. I had won! I was a millionaire, 50 times over! It never even occurred to me to wonder what life was going to be like after this.
Life after this turned out to be hell. Everyone was after that money. All of my “exes that live in Texas” were suddenly wanting to remarry. The IRS was hounding me. My phone never stopped ringing with ‘offers’ and ‘investments’ I had to have. The doorbell rang constantly even though I had put a no-soliciting sign up. Family I didn’t even know I had (and still not sure they really are family) started just showing up for long visits. I was never alone now; someone was always in the house with me, demanding money from me, begging for money from me. I felt like screaming all the time. I was sure I was going crazy.
I guess you could say I snapped. I know my sister wanted to have me committed. But I wrote her—my only true living relative—a check for $500,000. I would have given her more, but I decided that this amount was enough to make things easy for her, but not enough to ruin her life as mine had been ruined. I took it to her house and told her I wanted her to have it. At first she said no, but she finally took it. I told her my plan for the rest of it.
“I don’t want to live this way. I’m putting a story in the newspaper that I’ve given all the money away.” She said that was fine, as long as I didn’t REALLY give it all away.
So, I planted the story in the paper, and suddenly things were quiet again. I bought a casket and put it in my basement. I put a small slit in the lining, and stuffed the money into the lining and sewed it back up. Nobody would try to rob me now; they thought the money was all gone. And who would look into a casket for it anyway? I’m going to take it with me!