Sunday, November 4, 2007

Standing in line at the QuikTrip, thinking

On Sunday, some people go to church. I go to the QuikTrip. Gas for my car and the Sunday New York Times for my mental and spiritual edification.

This morning, paper in hand, I stood in line behind a man who was buying a package of Red Man chewing tobacco and thirty dollars worth of lottery tickets. There are lots of different kinds of tickets and it takes time to decide. I didn't mind - Sunday is a time for unhurried reflection.

I have never bought a lottery ticket in my life, because there's a small, but measurable, chance that I might win. I believe that overwhelming wealth, if you're not born to it, will ruin your chances for happiness. For one thing, it means that you'll be picking up the lunch tab for the rest of your life.

Why, then, did I buy 263 tickets for the Google lottery? Good question. The truth is, I'm not against money. I would like to have more of it. Just not too much more.

I don't need a lot of money. I live modestly and like it that way. But, investing in the Google lottery gives me something to do every day. It's fun.

And, someday, it may get me into a better class of nursing home.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy your writing style. Hope you will keep it up.

I got into goog around the same time you did with about the same amount of capital invested. Goog and one other (very small) tech stock constitute about 90% of my porfolio. It's a risky situation not recommended for peace of mind, but i agree with you, Google seems to be an exceptionally good and safe investment.

If you haven't yet read Stephen Arnold's (free) preface to his new book, Google, the Calculating Predator, i highly recommend it. He's the first person who I'm aware of that realizes that Google is way more than people understand at the moment. In fact, it is the world's first supra-national entity.

Larry Blumen said...

Thank you for your very kind and encouraging comments. I have discovered that writing something every day is really hard to do, but I plan to keep at it. A note like yours increases my sense of mission about it.

I didn't know about Stephen Arnold, but have just looked up the reference you provided - it looks really interesting.

I would welcome any suggestions or criticisms from you about what I'm doing.