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Outsider in My Own Country (Parts 7, 8, & 9 of 13)
What it’s like to be different from most of my co-citizens in many ways
7. Gambling and Las Vegas
“The lottery is a tax on the mathematically incompetent.”
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The way that gambling seems to be most prominent in people’s lives is through the purchase of lottery tickets. It was some time ago that I heard the writer Fran Lebowitz say in her characteristically wry voice that one’s chances of winning the lottery are about the same whether you buy a ticket or not. True enough!
I consider myself to be fortunate that the drive towards getting an education was a daily message in my family. School was important. Education was valued. Getting a college education was taken for granted — not a question of if I would go — just a look towards where that might be.
In addition to education, personal responsibility was also part of my upbringing, along with a healthy dose of self-reliance. I had the very strong sense that my financial success would come from my own initiative, and that it would not be left to chance. I grew up knowing that I was going to be responsible to study, get a job, and provide myself with a living. This is exactly…
