unsympathetic.

I was in Virginia this past weekend. Specifically, I was lost in Virginia this past weekend. So we stopped for directions at a giant discount tobacco store called The Red Barn or something like that. They specialized in lottery tickets, and, well, discount tobacco.

I waited in line to ask for directions, with flannel-wearing men carrying tobacco products in front of me and flannel-wearing men carrying tobacco products behind me. The guy in front of me (whose flannel was green and moustache was gray), bought two lottery tickets and a soft pack of Broncos. His total was $5.86. He had $11 all ready and waiting for the clerk, and had had it ready the whole time he'd been standing in line.

And it made me very very sad, that this old man had been here enough to buy his lottery tickets and his Broncos in a soft pack to know how much it would cost. I've never even heard of Bronco cigarettes, and I live in North Carolina, where tobacco is considered a vegetable.

I could easily use this story as an anti-lottery and anti-cigarettes vehicle. But I'm not. Because as I thought about that guy in front of me, I concluded that I am not against the lottery. As far as I've heard, the main argument against the lottery is that people gamble themselves into bankruptcy. And while, yeah, that sucks, but that's really their own fault. Can't afford to pay your rent? Don't buy a lottery ticket.

So anything beyond moderation in terms of the lottery maybe isn't such a great idea. We let people drink and smoke, and I've heard rumors that those things in excess aren't so good for you either. At some point, you have to let people take care of themselves. People have the right to ignore both the Surgeon General's warning and the eviction notice.

I'm unsympathetic, I know. And I'm certainly not speaking from any sort of expert standpoint. I'm just a completely uninformed bystander with an opinion, but that is my right. North Carolina doesn't even have a lottery (just a Cherokee reservation that has casinos, but where you can't even buy beer at the grocery store). I'm okay with not having a lottery. And I'd be okay if we had one. I hear they give the money to the schools. Maybe then we can afford to start a new curriculum for our kids where we teach them not to spend all their money on stupid stuff.