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Submitted by Chrishttp://www.gotthegeek.com/images/creative/man_walking.jpg" TARGET="BLANK">http://www.gotthegeek.com/images/creative/man_walking_sm.jpg" alt="" border="0">I'm sorry if you read this whole thing. Really. I am.Ben Harris is your average American working man who lives in America. He has a house not too far from the city that he sometimes lives in when his wife isn't mad at him for reasons that are inconsequential, he obviously has a wife, two kids, and he used to have a car that he could drive to and from work everyday.
How is it, then, that Ben is walking to work on this Thursday morning? Did he have car trouble? Is he walking from the parking lot to his place of work? Why? The answer lies in his life that is outside of the work place and is hidden from his family and close friends.
His obsession started many months ago after seeing for the first time the movie
Office Space. He thought that if he had a million dollars, he would do two chicks at the same time. Of course, not one of them being his wife. His job at the local beer factory as a salesman didn't pay him enough money, and the fact that he had two children at home to support, as well as a wife only made it harder for him to keep any money in the bank.
"How" He thought, "How am I going to get more money?" Ben knew there weren't any answers on the computer. He was too smart for those get rich quick schemes that are commonly seen on websites and within emails to clog inboxes. Working two jobs was out of the question as Ben was already putting in 12 hour days at his current job, it would be next to impossible for him to get another job and keep his sanity.
"Gambling!" Ben thought one day during his lunch break. "Gambling will surly get me some money. I'll go in with 500 dollars, and only play with my winnings that way I don't lose anything" Little did he actually know that his goal of one million dollars was 999,500 dollars away, or next to impossible for him to achieve.
After a hard eight hours of work that same day, Ben took his car and went to the casino about 30 miles outside of the city where he worked. A storm was on its way in, the wind had picked up, the air had become dryer, and thunder could be herd in the distance. "Great, just what we need, another storm and more rain" Ben thought to himself on his way in to the casino. Still irritated from his long day of work and the impending weather outside, Ben went into the casino, threw down 5 100-dollar-bills on the counter. "I want 500 in chips" he told the young man at the desk. The 500 dollars was exchanged for 50, brand new, crimson-red, never before used by another sole, chips which were worth 10 dollars each. "Good luck, sir" said the young man with an ill-omened smile on his face. Ben paid no attention to the man, grabbed his never before used chips from the counter and made his way to the playing floor where he hoped to increase his fortune and make his aspirations come true.
"Blackjack. That's what I'm talking about." He thought to himself as he made his way through the commotion on the floor. He sat down at the first Blackjack table with an empty seat. He put down 10 chips. 100 dollars on the line. 40 more chips to go. 400 more dollars waiting to go.
The first game Ben was dealt a 10 of hearts, and a 9 of diamonds. "No, I'm good" when the dealer was dealing a second round of cards thinking that a 19 should be good enough to beat the dealer. "20" said the dealer. Ben couldn't believe it. The dealer had beaten him on the first game. "That was close! I almost had him!" Ben thought to himself. The next game Ben put down double the amount the first time because he felt confident that this time he would beat the dealer. 20 more chips. 200 dollars on the line. 20 more to go. 200 dollars still waiting to go.
Ben's second game proved to be triumphant, "BLACKJACK!" He exclaimed. He had won 200 dollars from the casino, giving him a total of 600 dollars in his pockets, and some more pride. He was 100 dollars closer to doing two chicks at the same time. At this rate, it would only take him about a year or two to get there, but life isn't perfect, nor is gambling, Ben's luck was soon to run out.
Feeling lucky, Ben put down 400 on his next game. If he lost this, he would lose more than half of what he went in with. Ben again won this game. He now had 1000 dollars in his pockets, only 999,000 dollars more to go before hitting the one million mark.
“I’m on a role” thought Ben. In reality, we all know he wasn’t really on a role, yet he was on a chair with wheels on it. The next game Ben felt he was obligated to put down even more money because he had just won two in a row. At this point in time, Ben thought that nothing could stop him. He was going to double his money with each game he played.
“1000 going down!” Ben yelled out, feeling very proud of himself. The game began. Ben’s hand was the same as his first. A 10 of hears, and a 9 of diamonds. “Hit me” said Ben. He hesitated to turn his card over. After waiting about two minutes, Ben turned over the card. Defeat was written all over the card. Ben sat at the table thinking about what he had just done. Not only had he lost 500 dollars of his own money, but he had lost another 500 dollars that could have been his own money had he walked away.
That was it. He had no more money to spend. His day went from wore, to worser. Ben packed it up, and left the casino. On his way out, the approaching storm which was threatening upon his entry was now on the opposite side of the sky, and the wind was just dying down. On his way back to his car, he noticed one thing: The car that he had left before was certainly not there anymore. As if losing 1000 dollars was not enough, now he was short a car.
There Ben Harris was left in the casino parking lot with no money, and no car, 30 miles away from his place of work, and another 35 from where he lives. One thing is for sure: He won’t be doing two chicks at the same time anytime soon. He won’t even be doing one at once when his wife finds out, either.
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