Speaking of the Lottery

Since I just wasted damn near an hour filling out a stupid survey, I decided I should write a real entry and elaborate on the story I mentioned in the lottery question.

About two and a half months ago, my mom broke off her relationship with the loser of a boyfriend, John, that she’d been seeing off and on since she and my dad divorced in 2002.  I thought this would be just like every time before, and they’d end up back together after just a few days.  Boy, was I wrong.

My mom almost immediately reopened her Match.com account (which is how she met John) and updated her profile.  Within just a couple of days, she received a ‘wink’ from a nice-looking man that lived nearby.  She had a nagging feeling that she’d seen him somewhere before, but she brushed that feeling aside and winked back.  The next day, he sent her a friendly message, and they indulged in several online conversations for about a week before finally deciding to meet for dinner.  A couple of days before their date, mom called.  She could hardly contain her excitement as she told me the story.

The nagging feeling that she recognized this man didn’t subside, so the queen of all snoopers began to do a little digging.  It didn’t take long for her to remember the news story she’d seen a little over a year before.  Early in the summer of 2007, a local man, a truck driver, from her small town in northern Georgia won the Mega Millions Georgia state lottery.  After taxes, he brought home a whopping $83 million.  He’d signed his first name to the last email he sent, and thanks to the power of Google and image searching, she realized… it was him.

About halfway through their first date, he revealed his secret.  She said they talked like they’d known each other for years.  According to mom, he’s just a down home, country boy at heart.  He’s invested in several real estate and business ventures, and he’s apparently very saavy.  He hasn’t squandered any of his money away, and he’s actually worth more now than just after collecting his winnings.  And this is after his accountant gives him $750,000 spending money every year.

Within just a couple of weeks, mom announced their engagement.  They’ll be married on the 27th.  Tomorrow is her last day of work (for good), and they’ve bought a mansion, unlike anything I’ve ever even seen on TV, in Edgewater, Florida.  I wish the realty company still had the virtual tour up, because I almost shit my pants when I saw it.  She picked up her new Mercedes last week, and the private jet should be arriving next month.  I’ve already been promised a trip to Paris next year.  And although she’s signing a prenuptial agreement, let’s just say that mom will have no financial worries for the rest of her life no matter how this plays out.  Not only is she getting a huge monetary wedding gift, she’ll be receiving a hefty anniversary present every year, as well.

Think I’ll see any real payout from this?  I doubt it.  I’ll probably just see more of my mom…

Cheers,
Felina