Exercise 6.9If I Had a Million Dollars
Who would have believed it? I won a million dollars in the lottery. Lots of peo-
ple have been taken in by the notion that they’ll strike it rich someday. But it
really happened to me. When it does, what do you do with all that money?
The answer isn’t so easy. For years I have been plagued by the idea that hav-
ing lots of money would solve all my problems. But money just adds to the prob-
lems. In addition to taxes, there are friends and relatives, all of whom need a
loan. Everybody seems to want something from you. You begin to feel that peo-
ple only like you for your wealth.
I foolishly went on a buying spree. I bought three cars, a new house, a boat,
and a closet full of clothes for every season. How could I have been so stupid?
The money was soon gone, and I was back at my old job. But I had learned an
important and very old lesson: money doesn’t always buy happiness.
Exercise 6.10My First Job
I sometimes have to laugh when I think about my first job. I was sixteen years
old and believed that “a man” of that advanced age ought to earn his own keep.
So I got a job sweeping up in a hardware store. I dusted shelves, swept floors,
and cleaned toilets. It was so boring.
One day Mr. Jones, the owner of the store, said I had to help customers
because he was shorthanded. I was glad to do it and to leave my broom in the
back room.
But there was a problem. I wasn’t able to help anybody. I didn’t know a dead
bolt from a coping saw. I didn’t know that nails came in different sizes, and all
I did was frustrate Mr. Jones’ customers.
At the end of the week I got my paycheck and a little yellow slip that said I
was fired. It was a relief.
Answer Key 241