2004-05-29
1 Million Dollars?
Thank you, inkdragon, for the following thought-provoking question!!You are given a gift of 1 million dollars (kindly adjust for currency in your location). There are some restrictions on how you can spend some of the money, as follows:
$100,000 must be donated to charity. What charities will you support?
10k to the St. Louis Zoo, the rest divided between ASPCA, National Wildlife, World Wildlife Fund, Best Friends, and one or 2 other environmental and animal welfare organizations.
$100,000 must be given to one person that you know. To whom do you give it? What would you expect him/her to do with it? Would you put any restrictions on its use? Would it make a difference if you could make the donation anonymously?
To my chosen-daughter and her daughter, no restrictions, and I would hand it to her myself.
$100,000 must be given to someone who has recently been in the news. Who gets it? Why?
I�m assuming world or national news is implied here. However, I can�t think of a single world wide or national person mentioned in the news recently that either needs the money, or to whom I�d want to give the money. So � down to the local level hehe: Pet Rescue just had an adoption drive so they get the money.
$100,000 must be spent on a public beautification project. You can build a park, commission artwork, etc. What do you do, and where do you do it?
The Trails people are supposed to maintain the old Chain of Rocks Bridge here for bicycle traffic and pedestrian traffic. But the surrounding area is a lot of gravel and is very near a dumping-off point for the local high-volume litterers. So that would become a very well-kept little park area, with decent and clean restrooms, a picnic area, and perhaps a camping area.
$100,000 must be spent on a memorial to someone/something that you have loved and lost. What form does the memorial take? Who is it for?
This is going to sound cold. Oh well. Our school where I work built a memorial garden for one of the students who was killed. And another area for a teacher who died. But we had a school dog that was well loved by everyone. And since they�re big on donations and memorials, I�d give it to build a fenced in park-like area in memory of him, where faculty and staff could bring their dogs to work with them and have doggy day care. It would also help teach students the importance of treating animals with respect and kindness, and perhaps nudge a few into pet care fields. Since some of our alums and families are veterinarians and/or own kennels, they would be perfect to help set it up.
$50,000 must be spent studying something you have not formally studied. What will you study?
Art. I never got to study all the various aspects with someone who knew what they were talking about.
$50,000 must be spent establishing a scholarship. What's it for and who will you name it for?
I would establish a scholarship for a student to attend the excellent school where I am employed. I would insist on being involved in the choosing process, to avoid politics. I would name it after a couple who both teach there and are excellent, excellent (did I mention excellent?) teachers and wonderful people.
$50,000 must be given away in a contest. What kind of contest do you hold?
I�m not much for this kind of stuff. I think I�d go the silly route and hold an Everquest Marathon of some sort. Best line in combat, weirdest circumstances around your character�s latest demise, shortest time to reach level whatever � and it would all be for people in the guild to which I belong. Prizes would be $2,000 each and there would be 25 categories. Anyone could win more than one category.
$200,000 must be spent doing as many things as you can on your "lifetime to do list." Always wanted to see Alaska? Take a boat trip on the Rhine? What things would you do first?
Australia and Scotland would be visited, then I�d buy as much land as I could somewhere in the middle of nowhere and build a small house on it.
That leaves you with $150,000 of mad money. If the rules say you can't spend that money on things that might be termed "practical," what do you buy on your spending spree?
Jewelry-making supplies (beads and such), maybe $50,000 worth. Then just hang on to the rest for when I just simply had to have something silly.
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