THE LEGACY!
This has been a tough year. I just got out of jail and now the doctor is saying I have lung cancer and cirrhosis of the liver. He tells me there is not much hope and that I have just months to live. He just shook his head when I told him I had abused my body for the school children of Oklahoma. He just doesn’t ‘get it.’
*****
It all started back in 1982 when Oklahoma voters approved pari-mutuel gambling- you know betting on the ponies. There were commercials saying the money I gambled at the track would help educate the kids. I’ve always been about helping kids so I started going to the track every week doing my part to help the schools. In about a year, I had gotten to where I was going every day after work and on my lunch break. I wasn’t winning anything, but I took comfort in knowing that I was helping Oklahoma kids by betting on the ponies. I ‘got it.’
*****
In 1990, the Oklahoma legislature raised taxes on liquor and cigarettes. The extra money was earmarked for schools. While I didn’t drink or smoke then, I felt I had to start in order to support education. At first I have to admit I wasn’t too keen on the idea, but after a year or so, I had acquired a taste for a couple of cheap wines called Night Train Express and Thunderbird. I was drinking a couple of bottles a day and was struggling to stay awake at work, but I was helping the schools, so I faithfully stopped at the liquor store every day after work. Cigarettes calmed me down and I eventually I was up to four packs a day. I laughed at people who looked at me with disgust because I smoked. Did they not know that a large part of the price of a pack of cigs went to the schools? I was surrounded by selfish, thoughtless people who didn’t ‘get it.’
*****
When things got really tough was in 2004 when Oklahoma approved a lottery and expanded casino gambling. I have to admit I was not very excited about having to gamble more than I already was. But when the Superintendent of Schools said the lottery and the casinos were going to help the schools, they had me. I’ve always had a weakness for kids and now I not only was forced to bet on the ponies, but now I had to go to the three Indian casinos in my county after I had stopped at Love’s to buy my $50 worth of lottery tickets every week. Winning anything was secondary to me- my passion was helping the kids. I ‘got it.’
*****
My routine was the same every day- I would get up, smoke a couple of cigarettes and drink a quart of Thunderbird for breakfast. Then I would drive to the casino and play Blackjack for an hour while smoking another five cigs. Then it was stop by Love’s to pick up some lottery scratch offs before work. At lunch, I would go to the track, place my bets, and then play the slots in their casino before going back to work. I usually drank a Red Bull to keep me going in the afternoon. After work, I would stop off at the liquor store to buy my supper and breakfast, go by the Indian smoke shop and casino for an hour or so and then head home. My wife left me several years ago because she didn’t understand my dedication to the education cause. She didn’t ‘get it.’ After I drank my dinner, I headed to the large casino in the county that offers free drinks while you play poker. I usually left around midnight or when ever I ran out of money.
*****
About a year ago, I noticed I was getting a lot of ‘unpaid’ notices in my mail. After close investigation, I found I had not paid my house payment or car payment in over six months. I devised a plan to win the money to catch up on my bills. At work, they trust me to count the money that comes into the business. I’ve been working there about twenty years and quite frankly I don’t think the management of the company ‘gets it.’
*****
I know they know I smoke, drink and gamble to help the kids, but they never compliment my commitment to education or encourage other employees to emulate me. I decided if they weren’t willing to help education on their own, I would have to take matters into my own hands and force them to. I started taking a couple of hundred bucks each day out of the till to use at the casinos and at the track. I devised a way to cover it up and they would never know. The problem was I wasn’t winning at the track and casino. When the company auditor discovered what I was doing, the selfish jerk turned me into the owner. They had a trial and the selfish judge gave me two years in jail. I tried to explain to him that I had been doing it for the kids and the schools, but he just shook his head. He just didn’t ‘get it.’
*****
So today I’m sitting in the doctor’s office being told that my long term commitment to helping education in Oklahoma has evidently cost me my life. At least my legacy will be intact- I ‘got it’- I CARED!
*****
It all started back in 1982 when Oklahoma voters approved pari-mutuel gambling- you know betting on the ponies. There were commercials saying the money I gambled at the track would help educate the kids. I’ve always been about helping kids so I started going to the track every week doing my part to help the schools. In about a year, I had gotten to where I was going every day after work and on my lunch break. I wasn’t winning anything, but I took comfort in knowing that I was helping Oklahoma kids by betting on the ponies. I ‘got it.’
*****
In 1990, the Oklahoma legislature raised taxes on liquor and cigarettes. The extra money was earmarked for schools. While I didn’t drink or smoke then, I felt I had to start in order to support education. At first I have to admit I wasn’t too keen on the idea, but after a year or so, I had acquired a taste for a couple of cheap wines called Night Train Express and Thunderbird. I was drinking a couple of bottles a day and was struggling to stay awake at work, but I was helping the schools, so I faithfully stopped at the liquor store every day after work. Cigarettes calmed me down and I eventually I was up to four packs a day. I laughed at people who looked at me with disgust because I smoked. Did they not know that a large part of the price of a pack of cigs went to the schools? I was surrounded by selfish, thoughtless people who didn’t ‘get it.’
*****
When things got really tough was in 2004 when Oklahoma approved a lottery and expanded casino gambling. I have to admit I was not very excited about having to gamble more than I already was. But when the Superintendent of Schools said the lottery and the casinos were going to help the schools, they had me. I’ve always had a weakness for kids and now I not only was forced to bet on the ponies, but now I had to go to the three Indian casinos in my county after I had stopped at Love’s to buy my $50 worth of lottery tickets every week. Winning anything was secondary to me- my passion was helping the kids. I ‘got it.’
*****
My routine was the same every day- I would get up, smoke a couple of cigarettes and drink a quart of Thunderbird for breakfast. Then I would drive to the casino and play Blackjack for an hour while smoking another five cigs. Then it was stop by Love’s to pick up some lottery scratch offs before work. At lunch, I would go to the track, place my bets, and then play the slots in their casino before going back to work. I usually drank a Red Bull to keep me going in the afternoon. After work, I would stop off at the liquor store to buy my supper and breakfast, go by the Indian smoke shop and casino for an hour or so and then head home. My wife left me several years ago because she didn’t understand my dedication to the education cause. She didn’t ‘get it.’ After I drank my dinner, I headed to the large casino in the county that offers free drinks while you play poker. I usually left around midnight or when ever I ran out of money.
*****
About a year ago, I noticed I was getting a lot of ‘unpaid’ notices in my mail. After close investigation, I found I had not paid my house payment or car payment in over six months. I devised a plan to win the money to catch up on my bills. At work, they trust me to count the money that comes into the business. I’ve been working there about twenty years and quite frankly I don’t think the management of the company ‘gets it.’
*****
I know they know I smoke, drink and gamble to help the kids, but they never compliment my commitment to education or encourage other employees to emulate me. I decided if they weren’t willing to help education on their own, I would have to take matters into my own hands and force them to. I started taking a couple of hundred bucks each day out of the till to use at the casinos and at the track. I devised a way to cover it up and they would never know. The problem was I wasn’t winning at the track and casino. When the company auditor discovered what I was doing, the selfish jerk turned me into the owner. They had a trial and the selfish judge gave me two years in jail. I tried to explain to him that I had been doing it for the kids and the schools, but he just shook his head. He just didn’t ‘get it.’
*****
So today I’m sitting in the doctor’s office being told that my long term commitment to helping education in Oklahoma has evidently cost me my life. At least my legacy will be intact- I ‘got it’- I CARED!
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