Day 26- $1 a day

A man in an electric wheelchair passed me on Market Street today. To my surprise, balanced on his lap was a 10 gallon aquarium. Inside were five black and white mice scurrying amongst some shredded paper. I was intrigued.

Was he delivering mice to a medical lab for experiments?
Did he trap all those mice in his apartment and was taking them to the Dept. of Public Health to test them for rabies?
Does he have a famished 20 foot anaconda at home?
Or am I the only one who doesn't know that pet mice like to be taken out for fresh air every few days?

I was pondering these and other questions when I almost stepped on a one dollar bill. Yes, more money. In my everyday life I rarely find money. But for the 26 days of my experiment, I'm practically ready to open a 2009 IRA with my found money.

So I did what many an impoverished person would do with a $1 dollar windfall. I went to my local corner liquor store and bought a scratcher lottery ticket. A background fact about me is that I NEVER buy lottery tickets--I've probably bought 2 in my lifetime. But the one I bought looked like this:



I don't know how to pick out scratchers but one called "Easy Money" seemed promising. I walked home with a scratcher in my pocket, hope in my heart, and questions in my head. What if I really win something big? How weird would it be to conduct an experiment in order to identify with the poor and get rich gambling during the experiment?

Upon arriving at home, I got out a coin and scratched away. This is what I scratched:

I went back to the liquor store and said, "You know, I'm not much of a lottery player so I don't even know if I've won." Kevin smiled at me from behind the counter and handed me a $10 dollar bill. Hey, that was easy money!

I'm going to think about what to do with this $9 dollars. (I am going to put the original $1 in my "found" money which I am donating- but I never said I would donate "won" money!) To tell you the truth, I'm leaning towards treating myself to something. A meal out? Some candy? Music or a drink in a club? Or perhaps I should just hitch hike to Reno because MAMA IS FEELING LUCKY LATELY.