I just joined Random Acts of Journaling after reading inkdragon's response to this prompt. I really liked it and wanted to give it a go. And let's face it, I was a Friday Five junkie and I really needed it. Okay?
You are given a gift of 1 million dollars (kindly adjust for currency in your location). There are some restrictions on how you can spend some of the money, as follows:
$100,000 must be donated to charity. What charities will you support?
There are two local charities that I support in small ways when I can, and I would probably just give big to those. One is the children's cancer treatment center at Hackensack Hospital called Tomorrow's Children. One of the girls in my older daughter's Scout troop, of which I was the leader, was saved there some years back, and I know they do good work. There's also a place that does great work with the homeless nearby in Paterson; it grew from a soup kitchen into a major housing-job training-and more center. It's called Eva's Kitchen.
$100,000 must be given to one person that you know. To whom do you give it? What would you expect him/her to do with it? Would you put any restrictions on its use? Would it make a difference if you could make the donation anonymously?
I'm assuming that I'm not supposed to just give this to my children, or my sister, who would give me back half. (That's our lottery deal; if one of us ever wins, we give the other one half.) If I had this much money to give away, I would give it to my OldFriend, who's on disability and lives very simply and quietly in the West Village (NYC) in a rent-controlled apartment, which she could otherwise never afford. She's got nothing. I'd like to see her comfortable. No restrictions, no anonymity. If I explained the terms to her, she would take it.
Of course, if I could give it to my children, I would give it to either one of them, and I would expect her to share it with her sister.
$100,000 must be given to someone who has recently been in the news. Who gets it? Why?
This is a tough one. I might give it to anyone who could get Bush out of office. I might give it to the mayor of New Paltz, NY. I'm not sure.
$100,000 must be spent on a public beautification project. You can build a park, commission artwork, etc. What do you do, and where do you do it?
Also a tough one. I might improve the dreadful look of the high school where I work. The county park where I walk sometimes is very simple, but perfect the way it is. I might like to restore the giant mural that used to hang on the Alexander's department store near here that was torn down. (The mural is supposedly in storage; they tore down the building.) It was a local landmark. No wait, speaking of landmarks, I'd do whatever I could to preserve and restore the colonial-era buildings that still stand around here.
$100,000 must be spent on a memorial to someone/something that you have loved and lost. What form does the memorial take? Who is it for?
I can only think that it would be a memorial to my father, but I think it would have to be a memorial to his generation, the one they call "the greatest." It would be someplace peaceful where people could go and be inspired by their example.
$50,000 must be spent studying something you have not formally studied. What will you study?
Probably photography. I'd also like to learn a lot about website design, which I've only studied formally if you count a 6 hour class in FrontPage at CompUSA. If we're talking college here -- but I'm never doing that again -- I'd get a degree in history. I've taken history classes, of course, but never studied it as a major. I enjoy history.
$50,000 must be spent establishing a scholarship. What's it for and who will you name it for?
I've actually considered this, on a smaller scale of course, and may establish a small scholarship next year. It would be in my parents' names, and would be given at my high school. With this much money I could give several, but the one I've considered for maybe $500 a year would be to the graduating senior who'd contributed the most to the drama club that year. It took me awhile to come up with this as what the scholarship would be for. I settled on this because all five of their grandchildren were involved with the drama club at this school, so I think it would be meaningful to them.
$50,000 must be given away in a contest. What kind of contest do you hold?
Grr. Hate contests. Hate pitting people against each other and then selecting one of them as the best. So I think the contest might be a random thing, like one entry drawn at random from among a group of people and then that person gets it. Like maybe one kid at the high school getting a huge chunk of cash for college.
$200,000 must be spent doing as many things as you can on your "lifetime to do list." Always wanted to see Alaska? Take a boat trip on the Rhine? What things would you do first?
I want to fly to DisneyWorld FIRST CLASS with everyone I know who's willing to go with me and stay at the Grand Floridian and do everything first class while we're there. With what's left I want to make sure that I only fly first class for the rest of my life wherever I go, and maybe buy a timeshare at DW.
That leaves you with $150,000 of mad money. If the rules say you can't spend that money on things that might be termed "practical," what do you buy on your spending spree?
Practical is being prudent with your money. Prudent is that in three years when I can afford it I buy a Honda. Spending spree is that I go out tomorrow and buy a Volvo, or maybe a Land Rover. Prudent is fixing up my house. Spending spree is dumping the dump and getting a nice house. Not that $150,000 would do both. It wouldn't do the house at all, certainly not where I live, where housing prices are insanely inflated. But I wouldn't mind a cool car. That's not practical, is it?
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I'm watching Degrassi marathon
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