Lorna's Voice

Clichés become clichés for a reason. Tell us about the last time a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush for you.

This old adage means “it’s better to have a lesser but certain advantage than the possibility of a greater one that may come to nothing.” I couldn’t agree more.

Why?

Because I’m what you’d call risk-averse. While I’m socially liberal, I’m personally and economically conservative. That is to say, I’m conservative when in comes to my safety and my money. And that puts me with about half of the population when it comes to money at least. Only 10-15% of the general population are willing to take risks with their life, like jumping out of airplanes (with our without a parachute), running with the bulls in Pamplona, or eating fast food seven days a week.

Just this weekend I was standing in line at my local pharmacy (where else, eh?) and the man ahead of me purchased $15 worth of lottery tickets. The woman ahead of him was checking a stack of lottery tickets she had already purchased. It looked as if she was a dealer at a Black Jack table. Except she wasn’t dressed in a tux. She was in a sweat-suit.

Me? I purchased my various personal care items (never mind what they were) and skipped the lottery tickets.

I don’t gamble. Will I ever hit the big jackpot? Absolutely not!  And that’s fine by me. I’ll keep my dollars in my hand and not risk them for the chance at the big payoff.

I hear that even those “lucky winners” end up being miserable a lot of the time.