Two dollars for a dream?

Money in hand, they stood in line by the hundreds. To buy tickets of chance. A chance to dream for a few days or hours of hope of becoming rich.

It is human nature; I suppose, to take a chance to improve ones life, destiny, future. Even the rich - those who don't need to - often take chances to increase their holdings, their prospects and their fortunes, by starting new ventures, new businesses, new investments. So it is understandable to see that when the future is uncertain, opportunities invisible, and prospects stagnant, leaving the tentative for a chance of better would be justified.
Sacrifices made by athletes, sports car drivers, aerobatic pilots, explorers, mountain climbers and the like are all testament to the audacity of mankind in the dream of improving their skill, art and life. At times even at the cost of their health and life. I once witnessed the tragic death of an aviation friend, when he flew his aircraft into the ground at an air-show. He flew his aerobatic maneuvers close to the ground. Many of us objected to his carelessness. But he used to say that his audience was on the ground and so he needed to be close to them. On the fateful day he was about to finish his air-show with a loop. We all gasped as he entered the loop too close to the ground. On the role out, he ran out of air-space and flew into the ground, coming to stop with a frightening thud. I ran to him, but as I got close, slowed down to catch my breath when I saw him sitting in the open cockpit smiling. I thought that he had miraculously survived the crash. But as others and I reached him, the reality reached us that he was not with us anymore.
The many abandoned pueblos of the Native Americans of the Southwest are also a testament to the search for a better life. Despite the incredible resourcefulness used in building them, when it came time to seek a better environment, they cast off all that work and security and migrated to new places in the dream of finding something better.
Healthcare is one area mankind takes chances.  New medication, devices, treatment techniques, and new places to receive them are all evidence of the importance we place on it. In our profession, we have witnessed implausible advances in all aspects of the medical field. Whether it is DNA Specific Drugs, Robotic Surgeries, or Telehealth and Telemedicine. It is a wondrous and exciting time of history we live in. Many dreams are coming true, so its worth dreaming more, hoping more and taking chances for that betterness. Whether by starting a new job or venture, or moving to a new land or country, or spending two dollars for that dream of richness.