I attended the National Conference organized by the Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA) in Toronto on November 19, 2010. As a CHIMA member, I was present at the event. Upon entering the conference venue, I noticed a small lottery setup for fundraising and entertainment. People were lining up to play.
Standing in the mild winter, under the intermittent sun, I watched as others played. I have never believed in lotteries, so I just stood and observed. Suddenly, my eyes fell upon a beautiful water jug. The steel jug looked fantastic. I was a bit tempted by its appearance. I told the girl conducting the lottery, ‘You can take the dollar required for the lottery, but even if I don’t win the jug, I really like it, so please give it to me.’
The girl shook her head in disagreement. She said, ‘No, you have to play the lottery.’ I argued, saying, ‘Someone has to win the lottery and get the jug. Suppose I win. Canadians are honest people.’ The girl was adamant about not doing this. I also know about honesty and patriotism and, as a Canadian, I have a deep respect for both. So, without further requests, I spun the lottery wheel. I watched as the wheel spun.
In my mind, I was also circling around that vessel. Finally, the spinner stopped. I saw the girl staring at me with wide eyes because the spinner’s indicator had stopped on the water vessel. I then told her, ‘See, I told you to give me the vessel, and now you know I have magic.’
If I play the lottery again, I’ll win whatever I want. The lottery is organized to raise funds, so there’s no rule against playing twice or thrice. Even so, the girl forbade me, saying, ‘You can’t play anymore.’ I entered the conference hall with the lottery-winning vessel.
