A Blanket of Roses

The Lottery happens to be the most disgusting regressive tax on the hapless poor, struggling middle-class and degenerate gamblers since the Romans gave prisoners the choose “freedom or death option”-not that the “doors of death” were stacked against the sorry slave who happened to live in the wrong (absorbed by the Empire) country; but usually history played out the game as the slave or Christian had the following choices available in the game-door #1 (lion awaits), door #2 (lion awaits) and door #3 (lion awaits). And yet people still played, albeit a majority played against their will, yet many played because they wanted to become citizens and live in the lap of Rome's luxury.

It seems that history repeats itself when it comes to the gambling spirit. Because money won is better than money earned, or so they say. And despite our Puritan background, we all like to roll the dice from time to time. The odds of winning the lotto are so stacked against the player that you have better chance of being hit by lightening than winning the lottery. Could you imagine if they had those kinds of odds in Vegas? The only people who would travel to the desert would be Celine Dion fans and people who are really into the Kraut-Kissing duo and their man-eating tigers. That being said, I still play. Why might you ask? Because you never know; seriously, even the hapless of hapless losers catch a break baby one more time. Why can’t it be you or me? Or better yet, why can’t it be the original hustler himself, Pete Rose? I can imagine that my winning the lotto would be like “Charlie Hustle” getting tapped for a place on the wall in Cooperstown. Yet in this time of on-line gambling and Boston Red Sox scratch off lottery tickets, Pete Rose is left out in the cold. The irony here is that Barry Bonds and other steroid-offenders will find themselves in the Hall of Fame because they did not break a baseball law; they just broke a Federal law. But Pete Rose who bet on the ponies and baseball (in accordance with Federal and State laws) will be kept out of the Hall because his crimes (although not illegal in the eyes of the law) were illegal under Major League Baseball's rules.

Bottom line, if Major League Baseball is going to condone gambling with the Red Sox scratch off cards, then they sure as hell better let the best damn hitter the game has ever seen into the hall, regardless of his past (gambling) mistakes. The Bushido is pulling for you Charlie Hustle!