Day 114: A 60 Million Dollar Winner

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 114: A 60 Million Dollar Winner

For the past few weeks, the jackpot of Max Millions stood at $60 million dollars. Week after week, nobody won this jackpot, until yesterday which means that someone or a group of someones are celebrating this weekend as he, she or they are $60 million dollars richer.

During these past few weeks, people who otherwise never bought a ticket now did and they didn’t just buy a ticket, they went all out and bought $20, $50 or even $100 worth of tickets. Which makes me wonder … does the jackpot have to amount to $60 million before people get interested? Is $5 million, $10 million or $20 million not enough?

I also hope it’s not an undeserving person who won. You know the one who says … “Oh I never play, this was the first time I bought a ticket.” I find this terribly unfair. There are people, like me, who play every week without fail. Most of us have a firm set of numbers we use every week like birthdays, anniversaries, and other dates with a special meaning. So you can imagine, when some jackass wins millions who otherwise never plays that we feel betrayed.

As for me, I had high hopes of winning and plans of helping friends who could do with some financial assistance. Unfortunately, my hopes and plans turned to dust. Other than two free tickets I won nothing.

Not that this came as a surprise, I never win anything (other than free tickets and the occasional $10). Although, I must admit, many years ago – about a month after we arrived in Canada - I did win something.

Back then Max Millions was known as the Super 7. As the name implies, gamblers would pick seven numbers and then hope for the best. That particular Friday night I watched the draw of the numbers on TV and wrote them down on a notepad. Once the draw was finished, I retrieved my ticket and moved to the dining room table.

When I checked my ticket I had not 1, 2, 3 or 4 numbers right, I had 5 numbers right! Dieter and I were besides ourselves, thinking that we had won thousands of dollars. How much were five right numbers worth … $30,000, $50,000, $75,000 or even more?

Since results were not posted online back then, Dieter put on his coat and shoes and went to the nearest convenience store to pick up a ticket with the winning numbers and the money breakdown.

When he came back I immediately could tell that he didn’t have good news.

“Not $30,000, $50,000 or $75,000?” I asked him.

He shook his head.

“How much then … $10,000?”

Another headshake.

“$5,000 … $3,000?”

More head shaking.

“Well, how much then?”

Dieter put the ticket on the table so I could see for myself. The payout for five correct numbers was … $131,57.

From what I can tell, everyone agrees. The difference between 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th prize is too big. See for yourself …

Prize	Matches	Amount	Winners
1st	7	$60,000,000.00	1
2nd	6 + Bonus	$202,003.60	5
3rd	6	$5,536.80	194
4th	5	$107.50	12,678
5th	4	$20.00	288,496
6th	3 + Bonus	$20.00	276,488
7th	3	Free Ticket	2,537,042

Still, come Friday, I'll play again because as every gambler knows ... you have to be in it to win it and perseverance pays off. And if nothing else, I am persistent. I live by the slogan NEVER GIVE UP!

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Day 113: In the Spotlight: Margot Finke

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompt

Day 113: In the Spotlight: Margot Finke

How did your journey as a writer begin?

In middle school, when a teacher praised my writing style. Later, life got in the way of serious writing—husbands and kids can do that. Yet I always fed my imagination with the plays and stories I wrote in my spare time.

What is your favorite and least favorite aspect of writing?

I love all aspects of writing, especially when the ideas come thick and fast.  Book promotion however can be a real drag — it takes time from writing, dammit!

Do you recall the book that made you aspire to become a writer?

Alice in Wonderland. I devoured that book.

What authors do you admire and why?

The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold

The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
A Thousand Splendid Suns    “

The Sword of Demelza - Jeanne E. Rogers

Where is your favorite place to write?

When the kids went off to college, and I finally had the peace and time to write, we converted the family room into my writing den—a cosy space with sofa, chairs, a fireplace, windows onto the back gardens, and a humongous L shaped desk my husband set up for me. In winter, my tender outdoor plants luxuriate there under gro-luxe lighting. Mmmmm. . . indeed, a writing den where my inspiration can run riot!

Are you a pen and paper writer or a straight to the keyboard writer?

Keyboard all the way. Even I cannot read my own handwriting. I LOVE my computer!

As a reader, what catches your attention?

First it’s the voice of the writer—a first page that hooks my interest. Then the plot and the characters creep up on me, and I dive into the tale—an eager observer right in the middle of the angst and the action.

I also like to help others write tight and terrific MS.  Clients send me their MS so I can guide them into writing books their readers will love.  Very satisfying!!

When you write, what comes first, the plot or the characters?

This depends.  Sometimes one and sometimes the other. Ideally, both the plot and the main character are equally important.

What is your main goal when creating a story?

For me, books have always been a Magic Carpet Ride to fun, adventure, and a lifetime of learning. When an idea begs to be developed and written, I want it to take kids who read it on that same Magic Carpet Ride. My goal is to Hook Kids on Reading.

Does life ever imitate art or vice versa?

My “Down Under Calling,” the saga of a modern family divided by an ocean, features Grandma Rose, a feisty lady who is loveable as well as sneaky. The family stories she writes to her grandson in Oregon (that amaze him), come straight from the mouth of my dear departed Mom.  She was a wonderful storyteller, and every one of them is true. Mom would be so tickled to have them featured in a book of mine. Does this count?

The same happened with The Revenge of Thelma Hill--a ghost mystery set in Oregon.  As I wrote, the ghost’s character simply wrote itself. I wondered what was happening. Then I GOT IT!  I was channeling my mom again. And she was perfect for the scary, yet eventually friendly ghost who needed Frannie’s help to make her killer pay. So I thought, “I’ll go whole hog, and use Mom’s real name for the title. Thelma Hill was her maiden name. I also knew Mom would be thrilled to be a major character in a book I wrote –an ideal ghost.”

What inspired you to write Dreamtime Man? 

I grew up Down Under, and Dreamtime Man is a  rhyming picture book, inspired by the horrible things that happened to the Australian aboriginals after the white man colonized the country. Even though I have lived in the US for many years, my Aussie roots are deep. I was brought up to judge people by how they treated you, and not by the color of their skin, their religion, or their politics.

How do characters take shape and evolve in your mind?

Dreamtime Man is told in rhyme for older children and adults. It is based on history. I guess you could say that the main characters are the Spirits of Dreamtime and the Aboriginal Tribesmen. Both are inexplicably linked.  Both were battered and almost demolished by the invading hordes of white settlers, and later by terrible Government policies. Each side feared the other, and when fear rules violence reigns.

Is there an underlying message in your stories?

Absolutely. The  message is universal, yet today it is sadly not often realized:
*Earth is small, and we all need to get along together.
*Empathy and compassion are underused these days.
*Create tolerance and understanding instead of violence.
*Do not fear what is different. Different is often good.
*Let people prove their worth before you attack them.
*Use only what you need, and help your neighbors when they need it
*Don’t allow fear to create violence.

What pulled you to write your particular genre of writing?

It wasn’t a conscious choice.  I was a teacher’s aide, and I often told tales about Aussie animals to classes. It just happened, and I loved writing for children. Many of my books have Aussie Themes or about animals. They range from grade school picture books and stories, to mid-grade reading.

My latest books are:

**Daisy and Bartholomew Q   a MG – a fun fantasy adventure that promotes the use of powerful words and the Thesaurus.

** Oscar is Different a PB – looking or feeling different is not always a bad thing.

**Kobi Borrows a Pouch PB – a small koala discovers the Aussie bush can be a dangerous place.

Aside from writing, what are you passionate about?

My family—3 great grown kids, 4 wonderful grandkids and a husband who is a real treasure. Plus, the state of the US today, and how we should vote to fix it.

How has your background shaped you?

Growing up in Queensland, Australia, has imbued me with much of the Aussie independent spirit. I also love writing about its unique animals and way of life.

What is the one thing you would like to be remembered for?

“Here lies Margot Finke, off on her last Magic Carpet Ride to an uncharted land. Her wish is to hook kids on reading and have children of all ages read and reread all of her books.

If it were possible, what 3 things, other then your loved ones, would you take with you into the next life?

My computer, my thesaurus, and a copy of Alice in Wonderland

Describe yourself in 3 words?

Determined.  Organized. Imaginative.

What would your general day to day routine be?

Promote my books, write a little more, and work on critique client manuscripts. Read in my spare moments. Some garden time!  A possible Skype Classroom Visit.

Thank you so much Conny, for this opportunity to strut my stuff.

* Website:
http://www.margotfinke.com

** BOOK CATALOGUE:  Email for your copy:
 mfinke@frontier.com
For Discounts--Autographs + Cheaper Postage.
* ORDER DIRECT from Catalogue.

* Skype Classroom Visit Details:
http://virtualschoolvisits.blogspot.com/

* Amazon  +  Kindle : 
http://tinyurl.com/j26s6wu

My Pinterest Boards:  Help and Guidance Boards  for Teachers.
http://www.pinterest.com/margotfinke/

Day 112: How is this fair?

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 112: How is this fair?

I’m sick, or rather, I was sick, I got better and now I’m sick again. It’s only a cold, but I feel terrible. A head filled with cotton wool, watery eyes, a stuffed nose, a raspy throat, and limbs that seem to made of flannel.

How did this happen? My guess is my dear son came home with germs. He started sniffing and sneezing and I knew it was only a matter of time before his germs paid me a visit. Sure enough, 24 hours later I was sniffing and sneezing too.

While he got over his cold fairly quickly, it took me days to feel like my old self again. Yesterday I finally felt better and went out to have my health card renewed.

I had checked the list of what I needed to have this card renewed and I gathered the following:

Existing health card

3 original identification documents from the Ontario health coverage document list

1 to prove citizenship/immigration status

1 to prove residency in Ontario

I had all that and thought I had it covered, but I was wrong. For proof of residency, I had taken with me a Visa bill with my address on it. At the office, though I was told that a Visa bill is not acceptable. Well, that was a problem because I have no other paperwork.

We are constantly told to save the environment and to switch from paper to electronic forms. But now that I did, and don’t receive anything in paper form anymore, that counts against me. How is this fair? To have my health card renewed, I had to request a statement of my account on paper.

I came home thoroughly dispirited. The first time I went to Service Ontario their computer system was down. The second time, yesterday it was the lack of a paper document that stood in my way. Third time lucky?

As if that wasn’t enough, the effort of walking to Service Ontario and standing in line caused a relapse of my cold. Now I feel worse than before.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Day 111: I need your help deciding

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 111: I need your help deciding

Every writer knows it’s of the utmost importance to capture the reader’s attention from the first paragraph. I have an idea for a new story, but I can’t come up with a good start.

Which of these three do you like best? Or do neither of them appeal to you? Please take a moment and give me your response. It can be as limited as 1, 2 or 3 or something more in detail.

Option 1

Holly Edwards watched the smile die on her husband’s face and drain of all color when he opened the door to their condo and switched on the light.

“Jason, what is it?” she asked in alarm. “What’s wrong? Did someone break in?”

Not waiting for an answer, she pushed passed him and froze on the spot, her mouth opening, her breath caught in her throat. All the doors of the kitchen cabinets were open and the content lay in smithereens on the countertop and floor. “What the hell … who would do something like this?

Option 2

The building looked like an ordinary building, sixteen floors of concrete with spacious balconies where some residents kept red geraniums or some other type of flowers. The condo where Holly and Jason moved in was like any other condo, an L-shaped living room, a kitchen with white cabinets and stainless-steel appliances, an equally modern bathroom, two bedrooms, a walking closet and a small space meant for a washer and dryer.

They must have visited over twenty condos before they come across this one and none of them were right. Some were too small, others too expensive, others still were in a location that would require a long commute to work. When they came across 301 Prudential Drive, they loved it on sight. It was bigger than any condo they’d seen, the location was perfect and judging by the brand-new kitchen and bathroom, gleaming hardwood floor and spotless soft grey walls it was clear that the place was recently renovated. When the real estate agent mentioned the price, they jumped at it.

In hindsight, they should have asked the agent how long the unit had been on the market and the low price should have set off alarm bells. But they were first time home buyers, they didn’t care about how long condo had been for sale and the price was a steal.

It didn’t take long though for them to notice that this was no ordinary building. During the day everything was fine, there was nothing unusual about the place, but at night, that was a different story. The first time Holly took out the trash to the garbage chute, the corridor felt all wrong, like something sinister and she had a distinct feeling that someone was watching her. Not to mention the corridors in the basement where the swimming pool was, the party room, where every unit had an assigned locker, and which gave access to the underground parking. You couldn’t pay her to do down there alone, day or night.

As for their condo, strange things were happening there too.

Option 3

“You’re not going to believe what happened to me today,” I said when Jason, my husband, came home from work. “Go and change, I’ll make coffee and then sit down because this is going to knock you sideways.”

When Jason came back into the living room, having swapped his suit and tie for jeans and a T-shirt, he flopped on the couch and looked at me expectantly.

“Remember the story I told you a few days ago about the Indian woman in a blue sari I saw in the front garden of this building?”

“Of course,” Jason said. “The woman was standing in the garden with a small dog by her feet. When you got outside the woman was gone, you looked for her but she was nowhere to be seen. I suggested that she might have lived on the ground floor and climbed over her balcony, but you said that dressed in a sari that was unlikely.”

“Right. So today I went to the management office to pay our maintenance fees and that where I heard it … the woman and her dog are dead. They were on their way to the vet and there was an accident.”

“So, what are you saying?” Jason frowned, the beginning of a smile tugging at his lips. “That you saw a ghost? Two ghosts if you count the dog.”

“What other explanation is there?”

“It could have been any woman. There’s more than one Indian woman living in this building.”

I was slowly but surely losing my patience. “I asked the woman of the management office, Jason. I asked her what kind of dog the woman had and she said a Maltese poodle. The dog I saw by the woman’s feet was a Maltese poodle.”

Jason scratched his head, curved his index finger over his chin and looked at me. “That is indeed strange.”

“There’s more,” I said. “Let me get the coffee and I’ll tell you.”

“Another mystery story?”

“There are ghosts in this building,” I said ignoring his quip. “Not just one ghost, but three. Some ten years ago a man living on the 7^th floor was found dead in his unit, stabbed. A few years later a boy drowned in the swimming pool, and around the same time a man jumped to his death from his 15th-floor balcony.”

“That’s terrible,” Jason said, “How do you know all this?”

“Our neighbor from across told me.”

“You met our neighbor?”

“Yes, he seems like a nice man.”

“And what do these three dead people have to do with ghosts in this building?”

“Apparently they never left.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Day 110: A Visit to Home Depot

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 110: A Visit to Home Depot

Now that spring has finally sprung in Toronto, Dieter and I took a trip to Home Depot to buy flowers for the balcony. It’s a trip that I love, although it’s also a bit frustrating. There are so many flowers to choose from, but that I can’t have because many them are toxic to cats. Since I put safety before beauty I stick to petunias.

The petunias were on special actually with a sign that said ‘2 for $11’. I couldn’t believe my luck, two whole trays for $11! As it turned out, the sign was a bit misleading. It wasn’t two trays for $11, it was two baskets for $11 and each tray contained three baskets.

In addition, we also bought two hanging baskets with petunias, a basil plant (because I love, love, love basil), two tomato plants and potting soil.

Total cost: $135.

Before leaving Home Depot we also looked at a new chandelier for the dining room. The chandelier we have in the dining room now is beautiful, but a big pain in the you know where. It’s one of those crystal chandeliers with lots and lots of bells and cleaning them takes hours and hours.

First, the chandelier has to be disassembled, then I wash the bells in hot water with detergent, then to give the bells their shine I rub each individual one with lemon juice, and then the chandelier has to be assembled again. Like I said, it’s a pain, so we decided to look for something else.

While Home Depot had a number of nice chandeliers on display, none of them actually stood out. A few of them were very nice but were made up of crystal bells, and I’m not falling for those again.

Next, we wanted to look at ceramic tiles for the kitchen and balcony. Dieter found some very nice tiles for a reasonable price, but before buying, he would have to measure both areas to know how many square meters we need to cover.

While in the tile section, we also looked at backsplash tiles for the kitchen and that’s where I got into a spot of trouble. I saw some beautiful white and blue glass subway style tiles and got all excited because the price was a mere $5,99. I was all ready to put the tiles in the trolley when Dieter took a closer look. The price of the tiles was not $5,99 per box, but $5,99 per tile. Oh, well that changed things a bit.

It got better though, before leaving Home Depot, I went to look at the kitchen displays. With the first one I saw it was love at first sight: beautiful white cabinets, a generous granite sink, drawers that smoothly opened and closed, it was a dream. I looked at the price tag and saw $2,000. Hm, a bit expensive for six cabinets and a sink.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” I turned to Dieter.

“It is,” he nodded, “but way out of our price range.

“$2,000 isn’t that bad,” I said. “It looks like really good quality.”

“$2,000? Mom put your glasses on,” he said. “This kitchen isn’t $2,000, it’s $20,000!”

Since I couldn’t believe that this kitchen could cost that much I dug into my bag for my glasses and had another look … Dieter was right, these six cabinets and sink were indeed $20,000. OMG!

A cab took us home, we lugged the flowers and soil upstairs and placed everything on the balcony. The soil on the ground, the trays with petunias on the ledge and the baskets on hooks in the ceiling.

And would you believe it, Halley was scared of the baskets. More than just scared, she was petrified. She was fine with the soil and immediately rolled around on the bag. She didn’t mind the trays with petunias, whom she sniffed. But the baskets … oh no, she wanted nothing to do with those.

Dieter picked her up to let her get acquainted with the flowers and … oh no, she struggled to get out of his grip. 

Fortunately, her fear didn’t last long. After only a few days she realized that those flowers meant her no harm and now she quite okay again to go out on the balcony and enjoy the sun. She loves to roll around on the floor and would you believe it, her white coat stays spotless. You try doing that in a white outfit …

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