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sdelmonteIt's quiet here, so I figure it's a good time to steal this meme from stakebait. The meme coems in light of the massive payout in last week's powerball lottery.
1. What would be the first purchase you make with your newly-won fortune?
A house. But as to where, I'm not 100% sure. Then I think I'd finally get a cellphone.
2. What charities would benefit from your lottery winnings?
My old yeshiva elementary school; my synagogue; The Jewish Museum (although it may be a bit tacky to pay your employers a lot of money); quite a few emergency charity funds in Israel; any museum in NYC I like; many of the major and trustworthy anti-disease funds; and a few friends and acquaintances in dire need.
3. How would you handle the instant celebrity nature of your life, once lottery officials announced your name and shared your photograph with the world?
Honestly, do you really have to go public once you win? I would certainly make every effort to avoid this, and if I had to go public, I'd be as uncommunicative as a military press officer in Afghanistan.
4. Would you expect long-lost relatives or friends to resurface once you obtained the winnings?
Probably.
4a. If so, what would you do?
Ignore them as best as possible. Change my phone number and be thankful I don't use my real name as an e-mail address.
5. Many lottery winners state that their lives will not change despite winning a huge sum of money... do you think yours would? Why or why not?
Of course it would change. We would never have to work again. Batya could write full-time, and I would try to do likewise. I'd also have to become much more involved in managing my money than I already am. Big fortunes have a way of becoming small fortunes quickly. Never mind that wealth is a test of character that, while preferable to poverty, is still tough. I've met a good number of rich SOBs and can't help but think that if they were middle-class, they would not be quite so vile.
1. What would be the first purchase you make with your newly-won fortune?
A house. But as to where, I'm not 100% sure. Then I think I'd finally get a cellphone.
2. What charities would benefit from your lottery winnings?
My old yeshiva elementary school; my synagogue; The Jewish Museum (although it may be a bit tacky to pay your employers a lot of money); quite a few emergency charity funds in Israel; any museum in NYC I like; many of the major and trustworthy anti-disease funds; and a few friends and acquaintances in dire need.
3. How would you handle the instant celebrity nature of your life, once lottery officials announced your name and shared your photograph with the world?
Honestly, do you really have to go public once you win? I would certainly make every effort to avoid this, and if I had to go public, I'd be as uncommunicative as a military press officer in Afghanistan.
4. Would you expect long-lost relatives or friends to resurface once you obtained the winnings?
Probably.
4a. If so, what would you do?
Ignore them as best as possible. Change my phone number and be thankful I don't use my real name as an e-mail address.
5. Many lottery winners state that their lives will not change despite winning a huge sum of money... do you think yours would? Why or why not?
Of course it would change. We would never have to work again. Batya could write full-time, and I would try to do likewise. I'd also have to become much more involved in managing my money than I already am. Big fortunes have a way of becoming small fortunes quickly. Never mind that wealth is a test of character that, while preferable to poverty, is still tough. I've met a good number of rich SOBs and can't help but think that if they were middle-class, they would not be quite so vile.
