[Mack Metcalf] collected all-terrain vehicles, vintage American cars and an eccentric array of pets: horses, Rottweilers, tarantulas and a 15-foot boa constrictor.How much is a replica of Mount Vernon worth? It sold for half what it cost to build, $657,000. Maybe it should have sold for more, but the sad story behind it warded off buyers.
He also continued to give away cash. Neighbors recall him buying goods at a convenience store with $100 bills, then giving the change to the next person in line. Ms. Metcalf said she discovered boxes filled with scraps of paper in his home recording money he had given away, debts he would never collect.
His drinking got worse, and he became increasingly afraid that people were plotting to kill him, installing surveillance cameras and listening devices around his house, Ms. Metcalf said. Then in early 2003, he spent a month in the hospital for treatment of cirrhosis and hepatitis. After being released from the hospital, he married for the third time, but died just months later, in December.
December 5, 2005
"Any problems people have, money magnifies it so much, it's unbelievable."
The NYT has a long piece on that lottery winner we were talking about last week -- the man who built a replica of Mount Vernon and, soon enough, died there. His wife, you may remember, took her part of the money and built a geodesic dome and, soon enough, died there.
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6 comments:
Was it the sad story that warded off buyers, or the look of the house itself? I know that if I had tons of cash, I wouldn't buy it.
I'd have to settle for a traditional home in a gated community and a nice retreat home in some distant, isolated woods.
You know, I surely don't have the problems that that couple had, but I'd take my chances with problems and lots of money over problems and no money.
Or, at the least, if some guy was giving change from $100 bills, find where that guy shops and follow him everywhere.
"Neighbors recall him buying goods at a convenience store with $100 bills, then giving the change to the next person in line."
This is the kind of thing I fantasize about being able to do if I won the lottery.
I disagree with dave. I'll bet there is a continuum of responsible/irresponsible behavior associated with lottery winners. You just don't make the news if you aren't on the tail of the bell curve.
Dreams of lottery millions obliterate common sense. And I think it's sl. contagious.
I never even thought about buying a lottery ticket until I met my partner who buys a few tickets every month. He's an MBA/CPA and makes a good 3-4 times more money than I do working as a scientist.
I tried explaining the very remote chances of winning, how buying more than one ticket does not make you any more likely to win, etc., but he will have none of it.
Eventually, I gave up and now I buy a couple tickets every month too because I feel bad letting him take all the risk! Crazy is what it is.
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