Did you get your MegaMillions ticket?  I forgot. Of course, you can’t win if you don’t play, but quite honestly I played $6 per week for almost two years so I spent about $624 and I won $25.  Somehow I think my odds of winning are slim to below none. 

Well truthfully my sister went out and bought us 5 tickets, but I am not holding my breath.  But if by some WEIRD twist of fate, I actually came into some money I do already have plans for it.  First (of course) I would pay off all my debt, then I would pay off my children and my sister’s debts.   I would buy a house for my cousin Andrea and set her up with a trust fund.  There are others too, but these are the major things I would do.  Then I would work on my dream compound.

I would buy an enormous piece of land, preferably on a lake and there I would build a home for children who have been abused and abandoned, there would be therapists on hand to help them heal.  Also on this estate I would have an animal sanctuary for animals that have also been abused and abandoned.  My hope would be that the children would learn to care for the animals and the animals in turn would help the children heal.  I would also have a dog training center with agility course, walking trails and dock diving.

I would also do random acts, like go into a restaurant and leave an enormous tip.  Find a single, struggling mom and do something nice.  Donate to an animal shelter.

Wow, I feel better writing this down even though I won’t ever win!  So what would you do with $355 Million Dollars?

So by now I’m sure you’ve heard about the racy videos produced by Owen Honors, Captain of the USS Enterprise.  At first I was totally outraged demanding that he be fired without benefit of severance.   But now that I have had a few minutes to digest this story, I am simply hoping that he will have the opportunity to retire.  Sounds weird, right?

By all accounts from the hundreds of crew members who have spoken up, Captain Honors was a good guy, a fine captain that listened to his crew and took action when needed.  Part of his job while on deployment is to keep the crew’s spirits up.  If you have never had the experience of being on an aircraft carrier, maybe I can enlighten you a little.  Just over two years ago I flew out to San Diego and caught a ride with the crew of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln as they returned to their home port in Seattle, Washington from their deployment in the Middle East.  The trip from San Diego to Seattle took just under three days, and while I was thrilled to be spending time with my nephew, I have to tell you the isolation on that ship was excruciating.  Yes there are phones, but they are pay phones in a very public hallway, and yes there is e-mail but the service is iffy and there isn’t instant connection.  I didn’t have cell service for almost three days and I almost went out of my mind!  The morning we were heading to port, I went down to the door of the flight deck waiting for cell service and immediately called my husband.  We were not supposed to be on our cell phones while the ship was coming into port but everyone was sneaking them. 

So my point is that moral and spirits is crucial, especially when you are isolated like that.  Part of the way that Captain Honors kept his crew’s spirits up was with weekly movies that he made and often times “starred” in himself.  But in this particular instance Captain Honors choose some really inappropriate topics and materials to showcase.  Material that was more fitting for the Captain of the Star Ship Enterprise than a U. S. Aircraft Carrier.

That’s my argument, what say you?