Lottery winners get to buy the home they wanted. Often they are hard-working people who deserve a little good luck. What's interesting is they are usually thrifty ("I'm looking for a house between $150K-200K&quot , modest ("1200 square feet, and I'd love a little yard for a garden&quot , and homebodies-- almost all want to stay right there in their little Kansas town or wherever. They're also prudent-- some have waited months or years to spend the money. (Most have won about a million, not the big jackpots.)

Of course, the show probably weeds out the loonies. And it's pretty clear they've received serious financial planning advice (they know that they should reserve half the winnings for taxes).

But it's fun, and it's hard not to cheer for people who finally feel secure.
This truck driver, well, he's more than secure now.

I never play the lottery, but I like to see the winners smile. Sometimes random good luck should happen to people who deserve it.

I've seen a few shows on TLC - how the Lottery changed my life. Some are horror stories

I kept thinking "WTF?" I'd be having a life-sized replica of the Starship Enterprise built and these people are like "1 bathroom is OK as long as I have 2 bedrooms and a view"...

They have lived their entire lives trying to make ends meet, paycheck to paycheck. They don't understand investing or the other options wealthy people have. They also don't comprehend how much money a million really is. They do know that they want to remain secure, which is a much better mindset than rock stars, actors, and others have who run through millions like poop through a goose.

.. that would buy a whole lot of stock in Wray and his Nephew
Happy for him, he is still young enough to go and enjoy himself with it...He just need to move, and change his last name...me know a whole lot of Johnsons dem..

He's everyone's cousin, uncle or half bredda .

Good luck on him, Mon!

What a wonderful story to save.

I also love a Jamaican patois. Sometimes I don't hear the words because I'm listening to the accent.

Have a great time with your good luck, Mr. Johnson! A toast:

No one comes between me and my sorrel drink...

Learned it from my (you've got it) Jamaican neighbor in Florida when I was about 12!

Damn it's good

I usually have to beg my favorite barmeister about 3 weeks in advance. She runs a local liquor store so can get it in legally then resell it.

any Jamaican store and usually in Publix

We can barely get Corona!

I'm sure you can get it via Canada or New York

Am now 64.... you could say I'm entrenched except it's hard to dig a trench when the ground will be frozen for another few months!

I love beaches (grew up on one for a while) but prefer:

It must still be quite an adventure

We've had guests up from the Islands, showed them how to layer and took them skijoring.

February is usually the worst month; but you scrape the ice off your Jeep and since you plugged it in it'll start. Then run your butt (in your robe and jammies) back inside to wait till it warms enough not to kill you when you hop in.

But if you want a summer, come up for Solstice - get this - The. Sun. Does. Not. Set.

I always love it when someone like that wins the lottery! I hope he has a great life!

I think one of the reasons there is a DU is that we think about others, and try to do for them in hardship and celebrate when good things happen.

A neighbor who is an Air Traffic Controller got her truck stuck.

EVERY SINGLE ONE nearby got her truck out; and it was kind of fun, new snow, chilly (8 below) and a snowball fight erupted, and not one of us under 50.

So we all chipped in what we had in the freezer and made chili. And coffee. And hot toddies. The reason we're Democrats is we all have working brains and big hearts.

Nice. Well said.

So break out Johnson!

I adore this one.

I'll be sharing this with friends.

Too good seeing Willie playing reggae - here's another one

(since we're both engaging in prophecy and such...)

That said, I doubt that a man who works while sick for the extra holiday pay is careless with money