Overheard at Chipperfield's ... Part XXV ...

J-- was checking lottery numbers as one of the other regulars sat down.

"Checking your numbers?" asked the other regular.

"Yeah," J-- answered without looking up, "I bought a ticket on a lark. Afterall, for 42 Million, what could I really lose other then a couple of bucks."

"What would you do if you won that kind of money?" asked the regular as he picked up his coffee and took a sip.

"First thing I'd do," answered J--, looking up from the paper, "is give a couple hundred thousand to the Day Care group in town so they could get their building up. Then I'd give a couple hundred thousand to the Station Group, The Heritage Village group, and the United Church to get their building up too."

"Church couldn't take the money," stated the regular in a very matter of fact tone, "it's lottery money, and the United Church frowns on lottery money."

"You mean if I called them and offered them a cheque for a quarter of a million, they would say no," asked J--.

"If you won 42 MILLION," the regular said the last word very loudly, "you would only give the church a quarter of a million dollars? You really are a cheap skate aren't you??"

"I never said I wasn't cheap," said J-- with a smile, "besides, I'd give money to the Anglican Church too, and to the other groups in town who need some help with their buildings and so forth. I'd use alot of the money for good."

"What about the rest of it?" asked the regular, "Gonna waste it on wine, women and song?"

"Can't sing, so it won't be song," answered J--, "and I don't drink, so it won't be on wine."

"Only leaves women," answered the other regular.

"Exactly," answered J--, with a cheshire cat like grin spreaing across his face, "and I bet 40 million would go A LONG way ..." stretching out the syllables on 'long'.

"Be nice to find out," mused the other regular as he picked up his coffee and looked out the front window of the shop.

"Wouldn't it be ..." answered J-- as he checked the final number on his tickets, "But it isn't for me to find out ... only two numbers." He crumpled up his ticket and left it on the table between them, "what would YOU do if you won 42 Million?"

"Oh me," the regular looked around the shop in a conspiratorial way before answering, "I'd take the money and invest in my old farm that my son runs. That way we could keep farming for a couple more years!!"

"Ain't that the sad truth," nodded J-- in agreement.

"Truer then we'd both care to admit," said the regular as he lifted his coffe cup and took another sip.