ellen@reed.UUCP (Ellen Eades) (05/18/85)
I've been reading in the papers and the celebrity magazines about Ron&Nancy's and Charles&Di's respective trips to Europe recently and the amount of money/luggage/hangers-on that went with them, and I was just thinking... Here in Oregon we've just instituted a state lottery. Most of the winners, even the big million-plus winners, don't know what to do with all that money. Buy a house...still leaves $900,000 or so. Buy a car...still leaves $950,000 probably. Take a trip around the world...probably have at least half a million left over... And the Princess of Wales spends (this is what I heard) $37,000 per week on clothing, and our Secretary of State tours the refugee camps in Africa knowing he can go home to his six-figure house and his well-fed family any time he wants, and Ron and Nancy probably don't support Save the Children or anything like that; good ol' American investments for them. What can you do with all that money? How can anybody spend so damned much money on clothes, jewels, cars, houses, boats, trips...when people are dying at home and abroad? I have this little fantasy. When I get a few bucks to spare (there's about $80 in my bank account right now) I have this fantasy that I'll win that lottery. And I would give 90% of it away to all those organizations that need funds and never get it from the government. I can think of community agencies that could feed homeless people for months on end with a thousand lousy bucks...After all, I couldn't think of any way to spend a million bucks otherwise, either. I expect to be flamed for this letter, or something. But I'm sincere. Probably too stupid to live, too. But sometimes it hurts so bad I'm ashamed we support these rich ones who get paid millions to go to the opera in new gowns, when the unemployment rates in the US and Britain are so high, who buy new china while children starve, and I can't afford to do anything about it except post this article. "Praise Boss when morning work bells chime Praise Him for chunks of overtime Praise Him whose wars we love to fight Praise Him, fat leech and parasite. Aw Hell!" Ellen Eades