Wiccan Wins the Lottery

So I'm a little late in commenting on this, but last week a Wiccan man won the lottery. There's been alot of speculation about his persecution in the forums and talk about religion all over. I say Pah. He won the lottery, and he happens to be Wiccan. I am just glad the money will finally go to something worthwhile. He's going to invest it in his local Pagan community center/shop. Good job. Unfortunately, he says he's going to continue channelling money (more now that he has more) into corporate sharks like McDonald's and Walmart. Ugh. Anyway, here's the article http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070904/ap_on_re_us/mega_millions_jackpot_1

Of course, this has gotten me thinking about what I would do if I won the lottery. So I must indulge in a bit of fantasy here. First, of course, I would pay off my student loans. And the credit cards (of which I am most ashamed). I figured out the other day that my credit bills (including student loands, credit cards, etc.) come to about $1150 per month. That's $1150 per month I could be doing other things with if I had SAVED ahead of time instead of charging! $1150 I could be saving... instead of charging at the end of the damn month!
But I digress.
Once I've got all those paid, or arranged to be paid, I will call up my landlord and say, "I know you don't want to sell this house, but I really really love it. Assuming you would sell, what would you ask for it?" And then I'd double it, and buy my house.
Then I'd buy the church on my street. It's really quite a lovely bit of property all surrounded by woods. And the manse is cute too. I'd buy them for whatever price was presented. If I couldn't get that one, I have a second choice, the one down by my mom's house. That one is actually set back further from the street and more secluded, so it might actually be better. Anyway, I'd buy one of those. And I'd name it the Church of the Sacred Hearth and make it an all-path church where Pagan groups of any faith could gather. There would be both indoor and outdoor gathering areas, and a marvelous heirloom herb and vegetable garden. We'd have a day care center, and invite the local Spiral Scouts to take up residence, open up a Pagan lending library and establish Youth Groups. We'd have dances, socials, etc. I would hire a caretaker couple to stay in the manse and handle day to day business of the Church.
I would, of course, stay in my beautiful house.
I would quit my job and I would then settle in to be a full time writer and, of course, focus on running the church.
As for the kids, I'd set them up a trust to get them through college. I want them to become strong individuals and I think college is so important. I want PhDs! Whatever happens then depends on the choices they make. If they want to volunteer to travel to Africa to observe Apes, well, I guess I'd have to donate to the expedition.
In my will, I'd leave whatever was left to the Anthropology department. If I've done my job right, the kids won't need it and the church will have a trust set up to run it indefinately, so that should work out.

And now my brief foray into the fantasy realm is over. My co-workers, upon learning that a Wiccan had won the lottery, asked me if I was Wiccan. I attempted to explain the difference, but, for the most part they don't get it. It's fine. But they want me to join their lotto pool now. Haha. I never (or at least very rarely) gamble, which is odd since Hermes is one of my patrons. It's not a moral thing. It's just that I'm too cheap. Not too cheap to buy a book from Amazon.com on credit with 21% interest though!