13/1/00

Should I have bought a lottery ticket?

    It looked like it was going to be one of those days. But it turned out quite the opposite.
     I woke up feeling like I just wanted to play computer Solitaire until bedtime, but I had to be in court in the afternoon, and that evening I had to organize a complicated millennial contest at the Scrabble club. Both events were taxing enough, but then I noticed that very same day was the deadline for paying the Arnona tax, if I was to take advantage of the discount.
    I started out in a miserable mood, like one does when going to the dentist for root canal (which I had two days before).
     I had to pay Arnona at the municipality, because I qualify for an additional discount. At the best of times, this is not one of my favorite places. And this was the worst of times: when I got there, the mood was combatant and surly. There was yelling and shouting, and a woman was stomping out in tears. I had to join a long queue just to get a number. I got #318. They were at #155.
    Fortunately, I had brought the newspaper to read while I waited. Unfortunately, after 10 minutes, I had finished reading the newspaper, and they were still only at #157.
    Feeling very sorry for myself, I left the mayhem. With three hours to kill before the court appearance, I wandered about. It was a beautiful, rainless day (unfortunately).
    I stopped at a kiosk for a nosh, and the fellow asked if I had bought my lottery ticket yet.
    Waste of money, I growled.
    Maybe you'll get lucky, he responded brightly.
    And get lucky I did. I didn't win the 50 million, but the way the day progressed, well, it sort of added up.
    At small-claims court, I faced not just the shameless liar who struck my car back in April (and claimed that I had hit him), but his golden-tongued lawyer as well. Their lies piled up and contradicted each other, and the wise judge pointed out that if she was to believe their testimony, then my car must have traveled sideways for my door to hit his grille. The assembly in the courtroom laughed derisively at the other guy, the judge glared at him, and I walked out NIS 2,600 richer.
    With three hours left before the club session, I figured I might as well wait it out at the gehenom in the municipality -- which happens to be next door to the court. I still had my #318.
    I looked up at the display. It read "317." Disbelieving, I blinked -- and it changed to 318! I waited not five seconds.
    Not only did I get the two discounts, the clerk discovered that I was owed a major rebate from last year.
    With still time to kill, and a new bounce in my step, I stopped in at the Sefer Vesefel bookshop. For months, I had been searching in vain for two books, and acquiring them had become an obsession.
    They had both.
    Giddy from my string of good fortune, I joked that I'd happily pay double. He charged me half.
    I had to share my good vibes, so I visited a friend at her office. I told her of my incredible day, and she suggested I ride my luck and buy a lottery ticket.
    "Waste of money," I said.
    She had just finished work, so we went to a favorite restaurant owned by a mutual acquaintance, Eucalyptus, which happens to be in the municipality courtyard. Never mind the prices, I said, let's celebrate!
     We finished dinner and I pulled out my wallet. The owner smiled. It's on the house, he said.
    I was shattered by the time I got to the Scrabble club that night, and having to run a program of seven word contests for a packed house, I would have preferred not to play. But there was an even number of players, so I had to. The magic continued. I had my best results in seven years.  
    Back home, I could only shake my head in wonderment. Then I got greedy: damn, I thought, I should have bought a lottery ticket. On a day like this ...
    But luck has its own logic. On a day like this, when I could do no wrong, surely I would have bought the ticket worth 50 million. However, the fact that I didn't buy a ticket could only mean that I couldn't have won.
    It's hard to rationalize. I might have played Solitaire all day, won every game, and thanked my lucky stars I stayed home.