Thursday, October 05, 2006

A story to warm the cockles of your hearts in cool weather

Ok that was WAY too cheesy, but I thought I'd share a cutesy story. Others are writing about feminism, womens' rights, politics, and important issues of the day. I'm telling you about a little old lady who won the lottery.

Eighty-five years old, widowed, and having lost her daughter to cancer, Mary Wollens had a dream she won the lottery. Having already bought a ticket, she went out to buy a second ticket with the same numbers. [article]

It netted her sixteen million dollars, two thirds of the 24 million dollar jackpot. Not a bad haul, if I do say so myself. I guess she won't be worried about security in her old age like so many women. (You didn't think I would be completely vapid did you? The feminization of poverty is still an issue!)

But, beyond the happy ending, it makes me think. [I can't fully commit to a vapid post. I would not survive well at any of the Detroit TV stations I used to watch who were either telling you to lock your doors! Bad men are on the loose who have already eaten innocent families! and their exclusive news chopper is predicting that your family is next! or that patriotic firemen were snuggling cute fluffy kittens to send cookies and teddies to the brave troops in Eye-rack. I found it extremely dizzying, and often quite nauseating. Incidentally, if anyone finds out where Eye-rack is please let me know. I've searched my atlas to no avail.]

Am I alone in thinking it's a bit odd she dreamed it would happen, acted on it, and then it happened just as her dream said she would?

How often does that happen? Is this some freaky-deaky coincidence? Was the dream foretelling or is it just a coincidence she happened to get lucky. Might she have had a wee bit too much sherry and telling us stories?

I'd want to ask her about it - does she often have dreams that are fortuitous? Does she consider herself psychic? Does she view it as a coincidence? Stories like this make me wonder if there's something to the airy-fairy views that dreams are your way of seeing into the future.

I certainly don't have the answers (but would label myself a curious skeptic). More importantly, do you think she'd train me? I know I'm on a "not going to school anymore" moratorium but I think a lottery-winning class might be a good investment. I'd promise to use the money for good and not evil. I hope she has a blast spending it.


(and yeah, no idea what a cockle is, but here's someone else's take on the expression)

9 comments:

DebbieDoesLife said...

Okay, now you have encouraged me to write less vapid posts. Mine are vapid everyday!

Great post!!

Congrats on the nuptials too!

Andrew said...

Here's an easy first question: how often has she bought two lottery tickets with the same numbers? Because if she did it regularly, it would have less of a "wow" factor to it. I figure she got lucky on something that most people would consider a completely asinine lottery strategy.

And as for how she's gonna spend it, I read that she's headed to Vegas. To gamble her money away. *rolls eyes*

Anonymous said...

I have prophetic dreams. I started paying attention when I dreamt a snowbird plane crash/ fatality in detail and then 3 days later it happened and there hadn't been a fatality in 10 years (approx). And then I started paying attention and it happened quite abit. And then I remembered that it happened before but I had brushed them off as coincidences. Coincidentally my mother also has prophetic dreams, however mine are the most detailed and so far have dreamt 2 deaths and lots of other things that were dead on that happened soon after or things that I had no way of knowing. Sometimes I think it is a gift and other times a curse. I still hae normal nonsense dreams. Usually when I do have a prophetic "fortuitous" I have a strong reaction and they are much clearer and detailed when I wake up and sometimes I am very emotional.

I have no idea why I can do this or how it happens. It is just not possible that they are all coincidences. Seems to be an unexplainable mystery.

Anonymous said...

My cockles are jealous. I just have dreams about flying monkeys and not being able to find my spreadsheets.

Anonymous said...

Andrew: Yeah I suppose she may be a bit whacky, but at 85 if all you want to do is blow your money it may take until you're dead it'll take you a while even if you're not just going to the nickel slots.

Anonymous: Yikes! I don't know if it'd be a gift or a curse but I hope you start getting prophetic dreams where you win the lottery or something. I have no explanation either butI don't doubt your experiences.

Jenny: Mine are too, and the dream I remember the most in the last year was that somehow I was very pregnant and Dave was out breeding our pet moose and the dogs and I were in danger of being eaten by wolves, as were the mating moose. Not to helpful unfortunately.

Anonymous said...

So was the pet moose part of the dream or is that for real?

Because if you have a pet moose you are totally my new hero.

And totally weird.

Anonymous said...

Jenny: 100% dream. Moose don't make good pets, especially in cities. I have no pond lilies for them to eat either.

Anonymous said...

I can believe she dreamed it. They say we only use about 10% of our brains. Things like this happen because the brain is an incredibly powerful tool and even though we may not be aware of it, sometimes it tells us things we otherwise would have no way of knowing.
Imagine if we could harness that energy.

Anonymous said...

TB: There's just so much we have to learn about our own bodies.