Come on Wheel, mama needs a car

Come on, spin that wheel – mama needs a car
By Margi Washburn

We've been sitting around the kitchen table, night after night watching Deal or No Deal, a new game show that has us all wondering what we would do if we won a bazllion bucks. Actually, the family and I are going after the ten grand that's offered every night.

We dutifully phone in our guesses as to which lucky case holds our booty only to find ourselves disappointed once again. Shortly after that most of us are looking for some chocolate to drown our sorrows in. (Note to mom: get some chocolate – just in case).

It's kind of neat to have the show send us a multitude of text messages on our phones. It makes us feel important even while we tally up the cost of sending and receiving those messages.

The Deal or No Deal craze isn't the latest pie in the sky dream to hit us lately. Remember the $365 million lottery prize won by a few co-workers in another state? Incidentally, I probably wouldn't be writing this piece if I was related to one of those lovely folks. Well, maybe I shouldn't say that in print; the other people I work for might get the idea that I'd skedaddle in a big, fat hurry if I won a few bucks.

Let's face it. Money isn't going to drop in our laps, we're going to have to work for it. There's a satisfaction to working hard and getting paid a good wage. It feels good to pay our own way, and it feels even better if we have some left over to share with others who are going through their umpteenth bad patch.

I guess I'm wondering how to balance the idea of wishng for a windfall and the pride of making our own way. And it's not just the above-named game show we're becoming addicted to. Wheel of Fortune has the Spin ID thing going.

I set up the numbers for myself and for mom. We catch the show whenever we possibly can because now there's a chance to win a trip and a car. I used to want the contestants to win just because it seemed the right thing to do. Now I find myself yelling at the screen, “Come on! Mama needs a car!” And when they don't get guess the puzzle, I'm ticked off. If they get the answer but the prize is cash and not a car, I get ticked off. There's no Spin ID winner if the prize is cash, so what good does that do me? None, that's what.

It really isn't as bad as it sounds. I'm still working two jobs, and I love them both. But let's be honest; if you love the work you do would you stick around if you won a boatload of money?

That's what I thought.

I know that hubby's mom has always wanted to go to Hawaii. Maybe one of us will win that trip tonight on Wheel of Fortune. If we do, I promised the rest of the family that mom and I would be sure to send them a postcard. Aloha.