8 Blogs In 8 Weeks #7

As I mentioned in a previous Blog, I watch too much television.  It seems like a television is always on somewhere in the house.  The Today Show for news in the mornings as we get dressed, the Nightly News, ESPN or MSNBC at various times..And we record a lot of shows for future watching.  I think most people have a “guilty pleasure” that they watch and might not want to admit.  Michelle Obama recently said that her guilty pleasure is the Real Housewives,  

Well, I have to admit, I have a guilty pleasure that I have watched for 43 Seasons….yep, the reality show “Survivor” is one that I record every week and watch faithfully.  For those that have never seen the show, the producers assemble a group of people from various backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, etc and dumps them on an island beach with no supplies, no food and no shelter and they spend 25 or so days creating their own shelter, forging for food and playing a game of outwit, outplay and outlast each other.  They endure physical, mental and emotional challenges along the way that force the players to choose between risk and reward while still navigating the complex social game and attempt to forge alliances that will allow them to last another day.

There are both physical and emotional challenge games along the way that culminate in one player getting voted off each week.  Finally, there  are ultimately 3 players left to plead their case before a jury of players that have been voted off earlier.  I guess I revel in the social part of the game more than the challenges as there are those that lie, steal and do whatever they can to manipulate their friends and opponents as the game progresses.

In last night’s finale for season 43, it came down to the oldest player, a young woman and a 30 something young man.  Spoiler alert…. the winner was the “old guy” who played the game more honestly than any other player I have seen in 43 seasons.  But what struck me and millions of other Survivor fans is that he announced that the prize he won of one million dollars was going to be donated in its entirety to a charity for wounded veterans. He was not keeping a single dollar for himself!  The other contestants were stunned and their jaws dropped as he dedicated the donation to his Father, a former Green Beret.

It made me think of what I would do if I won a lot of money in the Lottery or had a massive windfall all at once.  Of course, I buy a lottery ticket every once in a while although I know the odds of winning the many millions is minuscule….but somebody has to win and you can’t win if you don’t play. 

We have all read about some lottery winners that mishandle the winnings and are broke a few years later.  I think the way to handle the winnings of a massive windfall is to first take care of your family and close friends and then take a larger portion and give back to the community through a charitable trust.  If you are lucky enough to win over $500 Million dollars, as someone recently did in Powerball, why would you not use a portion of that to help others in need?

I don't pretend that I should tell others how to spend their money, but when people like Elon Musk would rather lose Billions of dollars feeding his ego rather than helping others, I can only shake my head.  In this Season of Giving let's be like the winner of Survivor and all not forget those less fortunate than us.

Happy Holidays!

And The Journey continues......