It's A Crapshoot, Really

Heed your hunches, people. Listen to Mrs. Hillbilly Mom. And your hunches!

Perhaps you've heard that Mrs. HM likes to play the lottery. Not the numbers. She's never had any luck with those draw tickets. Nope. Scratch-off is where it's at for her.

Last week, I did not get my customary $100 winner. Not sure what threw off my timing. I know a streak can't last forever. But my routine had been working. Sure, there were weeks where I didn't get my $100 winning ticket. And on those weeks, I had a $200 winner and a $500 winner. I'm not complaining. There was even that week that I had THREE $100 winners on three consecutive days. But I forget about them, you know, when the slump comes around.

Anyhoo...at night, I look at my little record of where I bought my tickets last, and the number on the ticket, and how much it won or didn't. And from that list, I formulate the next day's lottery purchase. Don't you worry about Mrs. Hillbilly Mom! Even though she didn't hit a big winner last week, she still has a stockpile of her winnings with which to play. Surely you haven't forgotten her $1000 Frenzy on March 31st!

Anyhoo...as I backed T-Hoe out of the garage this morning, and the metal-roof was off his radio, allowing my music to play...you'll never guess what song was on Prime Country.

"I Feel Lucky" by Mary Chapin Carpenter

Well. As if THAT didn't perk up my spirits! It's all about the signs, people. So off I went with my plan in mind. Wouldn't you know it. My plan was to get tickets at Country Mart's machines. But they were OUT, by cracky! Out of the main ticket I went to get. BOTH machines were out of it! So I only got one other ticket I'd planned on, a ten-dollar Frenzy. Because that machine doesn't give change, and it was out of the five-dollar tickets I also had planned on, I also got a ten-dollar 50X ticket. It won $20, and the Frenzy won $10. So I was ahead by ten dollars on that transaction. I didn't know until later, though, because I always scratch my tickets at home.

Now the dilemma. The rest of my plan included a trip over to the Casey's where I get gas for T-Hoe. He doesn't need gas right now, but I had some tickets to cash in from yesterday. I never cash them in at Country Mart. I was going to cash them in and get the same tickets back. A Golden Ticket, and a 500 Madness that costs five dollars. I was running a little later than I planned, and figured I could just cash them in at the gas station chicken store when I got my 44 oz Diet Coke, and get the tickets I missed by the machine being out.

NO NO NO, my mind told me. THAT'S not the plan! You planned to go to Casey's and cash in those two tickets and get the same two back. Even trade. It's the PLAN! And besides, you heard that "I Feel Lucky" song when you left home. With the PLAN.

Off I went to Casey's. I traded in my two tickets. The Golden Ticket I got back was a winner.

That's right. It's my $100 winner for this week.

Listen to your hunches, people. Even when your hunches tell you to stick to the PLAN instead of a new hunch.