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laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
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 Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 8:10 pm Post subject: Soldier lotto winner staying in Afghanistan |
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Soldier lotto winner staying in Afghanistan
Sep. 13, 2006. 04:25 PM
CANADIAN PRESS
PASHMUL, Afghanistan � One of Canada's latest lottery jackpot winners tiptoed into an abandoned Taliban stronghold Wednesday to blow up a booby trap insurgents left behind.
Sgt. Neil Coates may be $625,000 richer thanks to a Super 7 lottery win, but he can't buy his way out of the army or the duty he feels to fallen friends and the comrades who remain.
"My first reaction was, `Get the hell out of here,"' Coates, 44, told The Canadian Press at the front lines of the NATO operation to clear insurgents from this Taliban stronghold.
"But I talked to my wife about it, and this is what I came here to do, I trained a whole year for this. I owe it to these guys to see it through."
Coates, a veteran combat engineer, admits the strange collision of fates has left him a bit bewildered � a dangerous state for a man in charge of a team of explosives and demolition experts.
"It's difficult to keep focused on what you're doing," Coates said while waiting to clear bombs and weapons from the next village.
"But with my job, lives depend on staying focused. When you get some downtime, you can sit back and think about what we will do with all the money."
Coates learned about the win from his wife Cheryl on Wednesday when he received an urgent message to call home.
Her elation made it clear no bad news would be delivered for a change. The family split a $5 million prize among eight lottery partners.
Coates has lost several friends among the recent Canadian deaths in Afghanistan.
"It was a bad stretch for three or four days, and one reason it's so overwhelming is one minute you're so depressed and the next minute one of the best things that could ever happen to a person happens to you," he explained.
"But I think it's been a bit of a morale boost for everybody."
Engineers who work with Coates have started mockingly charging him $10 for a bottle of water. Someone has drawn a dollar sign on his helmet.
"It really couldn't have happened to a better guy," said Master Cpl. Dwayne Orvis of Shelborne, Ont.
Coates had talked to the army about leaving early from Afghanistan before deciding to stick out his tour.
"I'd feel pretty badly leaving the section," Coates said.
A native of Newcastle, England, Coates served in the British army for 13 years before moving and joining the Canadian army in 1993.
Coates says his wife will pay off the car and some other bills and put the rest in the bank until they get a chance to discuss the next plan.
He may look for a new line of work, but he's far from making a decision, he said.
"It's tough to discuss on the phone," Coates said. In depth planning will have to wait for his leave in December or his return home in February.
"But it will be nice to be debt-free for a while." |
Soldier lotto winner staying in Afghanistan
I thought the last three words were funny. If I won that much money, I would be out of debt for life  |
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ThePoet
Joined: 15 May 2004
Location: No longer in Korea - just lurking here
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 1:32 am Post subject: |
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Some Sociology study found that the majority of lottory winners (over 1 million) are broke within 5 years of winning. They go a little goofy, and of course all the hard luck stories from 'friends' and family start.
They always start with good intentions of being debt free and living off the interest for the rest of their lives, but it never quite turns out that way.
Poet |
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Hollywoodaction
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:30 am Post subject: |
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| I really question the DND's decision to use this guy's story as a PR/moral booster. |
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Thunndarr
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:32 am Post subject: |
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| ThePoet wrote: |
Some Sociology study found that the majority of lottory winners (over 1 million) are broke within 5 years of winning. They go a little goofy, and of course all the hard luck stories from 'friends' and family start.
They always start with good intentions of being debt free and living off the interest for the rest of their lives, but it never quite turns out that way.
Poet |
Well, I think living in a foreign country without letting anyone know your phone number would definitely cut down on that sort of thing. |
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djsmnc
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Location: Dave's ESL Cafe
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 8:20 am Post subject: |
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| Thunndarr wrote: |
| ThePoet wrote: |
Some Sociology study found that the majority of lottory winners (over 1 million) are broke within 5 years of winning. They go a little goofy, and of course all the hard luck stories from 'friends' and family start.
They always start with good intentions of being debt free and living off the interest for the rest of their lives, but it never quite turns out that way.
Poet |
Well, I think living in a foreign country without letting anyone know your phone number would definitely cut down on that sort of thing. |
Exactly. Buy your folks a house and a car and get the *beep* out! |
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blaseblasphemener
Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Location: There's a voice, keeps on calling me, down the road, that's where I'll always be
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 8:27 am Post subject: |
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| Hell yeah. "I'm in Thailand, come visit and we'll discuss your situation. "See how many sap-suckers from back home would spring for the money to fly out and chat. |
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Qinella
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 2:50 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah with $625k, I mean it's really not gonna go that far in North America. You buy a nice house for your parents, your wife's parents and yourself.. well, there it goes! All gone just like that.
The smart move would be to Thailand or some other country where the $ is worth a hell of a lot more, live off a small portion of it, and put the rest into a diversified, long-term portfolio.
To me, the most shocking part of the story was learning that Canadia has a military. Wtf? |
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flotsam
Joined: 28 Mar 2006
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Qinella wrote: |
| Yeah with $625k, I mean it's really not gonna go that far in North America. |
And that's Canadian. So like, 47 cents or something.
| Qinella wrote: |
| To me, the most shocking part of the story was learning that Canadia has a military. Wtf? |
We could tie this discussion in with the pullout thread:
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The Man known as The Man
Joined: 29 Mar 2003
Location: 3 cheers for Ted Haggard oh yeah!
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:54 pm Post subject: |
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| That's like the Simpsons when Moe won the lottery-better luck next time |
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