THE FATHER OF FEDERATION

I WAS DOWN on my luck again and the first thing I remembered from when I woke up that morning was the number 121. Then I was starving and yeah whatever, the rest of the morning the happened.

So, as I was walking down the street, I saw house number 121 and remembered the dream. Then, when I got home, I checked my bank account balance: $121.00 exactly.

I grabbed a one dollar coin off the shelf with an old man with a big beard on it marked THE FATHER OF FEDERATION and sprinted up to the Newsagent. I asked the clerk for a one dollar scratchie.

“Ah, these are the new ones – they’re called Mo Money.” The clerk said and she pulled from a roll on the second row of one dollar scratch tickets. “Ah, the ones and twos! It all makes sense!” I thought.

I walked home and waited for 11:12am and started G**GLING what I was going to spend my millions of dollars on, and figured iron ore was probably the best choice and wondered how much iron ore I could fit in my small apartment. Then 11:12am struck and I used the Father of Federation to scratch the ticket and guess what I got: ONE FREE TICKET!

I pulled my boots back on and grabbed the nearest jacket and ran back to the Newsagent. On the way up I ran out of puff and wondered why they don’t put the pokie machines in affluent areas; and then it clicked “The scratchie Gods put the money in the poor areas because they know the poor will waste it on food and more scratchie tickets”.

Out the front of the Newsagency I saw a sign which read PLENTY MONEY and another sign next to it which read WE SELL SODA KING REFILLS.

As I entered the Newsagent there were old men wearing cardigans and one was huddled over a bench scribbling down numbers on all sorts of gambling mechanisms called LOTTO or whatever. I dunno, I don’t understand numbers very well and I thought to myself, “Boy, these guys have got it made, they must really like sitting around drinking soda and scratching these tickets all day – what a thrill!”

I was excited. The other old man in front of me was buying a newspaper written in Greek. I handed over my ticket to the clerk and she scanned it through and then I heard a “TAH DAH!” sound and it felt like balloons and confetti had just fallen from the sky and all over me.

I asked the clerk’s name and she replied “Ling”.

“I got it all figured out Ling, the ones and twos. The second Mo Money ticket please.” and she smiled and handed it over.

“Let me know how you go” she said politely.

“Oh, we’ll do this one together” I replied and pulled out the Father of Federation once more and scratched away right there on the counter. This was the ticket ticket, I was sure of it - one dollar for the first ticket, then it turned into two tickets; now for the grand finale AND!!!

Nuthin’.

“I guess this is how a gambling addiction starts” I said to Ling and she gave me a laugh and a wave.

As I walked home I wanted to go back up to the Newsagent and buy another scrathie. Maybe I got the numbers wrong. Then I saw a 3 spray painted on the ground and figured the third scratchie ticket is definitely the winner but it’s for the deserving person. Let the scratchie Gods bless them, it ain’t meant for me; and regardless of 1 and 2 equalling 3 - I ‘d dreamt of 121 and that totals 4.

“I should have bought a four dollar scratchie, or 121 one dollar scratchies” I thought and barely stopped myself from turning around and running back into the store for a third time.

Then I saw a flower on the side on the path. It was purple and beautiful and I looked at it for ages, studying it, until a man carrying a box marked WORKGEAR from a van looked at me like I was insane crouched down on the footpath looking at flowers.

“Whatever man” I thought and was like “you’re the crazy one carrying around a box marked WORKGEAR – this flower is more beautiful than your box” but I didn’t say it. And then I wanted to pick the flower and take it home but I stopped myself and remembered that you can’t own nature and that if I picked the flower it would die in my apartment and the next person walking by might not see it also. So I left it to brighten up their day like it did mine.