The Winner

More Letters From Paradise                          The Winner  It wouldn't have happened if Harry hadn't    played the lottery. But, he did. Some men dream of escaping to a tropical isle, but Harry dreamed of winning the lottery, and he hated Principal Wickersham," educational leader" of his high school. Wickersham had once served briefly in the army, and had not forgotten it. There were endless colored memos to the staff, and pointless meetings. Harry had been more vocal than any other members of the staff, and Wickersham, through the word of his pet spy, gained this information. So, he singled Harry out to make his life miserable. That's why Harry dreamed of winning the lottery, and have his revenge on Principal Wickersham.  It might have gone on like this forever, if Pat hadn't decided to have some fun, and make Harry think he had won the lottery. Pat had a friend who was a printer, and then there was that Arab liquor store manager and lottery sales agent, with a sadistic turn of mind.  As soon as the winning numbers were announced, Pat made a hurried phone call.  What happened next was simply that Harry went nuts. Pat, and others on the staff stood dumfounded as Harry savagely attacked the contents of his desk. He yanked open drawers and flung papers in every direction. With one sweep of his arm, the top of his desk was swept clean.  By now Pat was starting to have second thoughts about the phony lottery ticket.  Harry, flushed with success and grinning from ear to ear, shouted with glee, and next attacked the bookcase against the wall, and books went flying.  Pat was about to open his mouth when Harry was out the door, screaming as he ran down the hall, kicking over trash can as he went. By now a large crowd had gathered, and as Pat watched horrified, Harry climbed up on the top of a deck outside Wickersham's office, dropped his pants, and pressed his ass to the cold glass.  Harry's exploit was discussed for many years after he left, and he became a kind of "folk hero." Someone later said that they had seen Harry working for the gas company in Peoria,Illinois.                Aloha              Grant