If you found $1,000,000 in a dumpster, what would you do with it?

Before I did anything with a million dollars, that I found in a dumpster, I would first take a minute to analyze my life and how I got to the point where I was in a dumpster looking for something that was actually worth while... I would no doubt have to think for a very long time about it, because I can not for the life of me imagine myself in any dumpster anywhere looking for something.

I would suppose that after the initial shock of realizing that I was actually in a dumpster, I would then proceed to the bank and deposit half of it into my savings account. I would of course explain to everyone that I had found it in a dumpster in hopes of creating a fad for dumpster diving. I would find it amusing and would justify my reason for being in that dumpster with that fact alone.

After depositing half of that money, I would then proceed to buy a house. I would probably buy a house that cost no more than $300,000. With the rest of the money, I would pay off the mortgage for my church so that they would not have all of the financial restrictions that they have. I'm sure that they do not have that much left on it, so the rest of that money I would use to refurbish the church and school.

Now, back to the money that I banked. I would leave it there and never touch it. Let it gain interest, and I would continue working. Perhaps I would pay off my loans for school after I graduate, but then would never touch it again and simply continue in my career until retirement, at which point the money would have compounded into million and I would have the most fun an old man could have. I would get a wood shop in my backyard, and an art studio upstairs. I would have the most insane entertainment center that you had ever seen in a 65 year old's house.

If you were trapped in rubble, what would you think about? What could you find to be grateful for, and what would you regret?

If I were trapped under rubble for 8 days, I think that the first thoughts going through my head would be, "When am I going to die?" or "Who would be so fortunate as to pick up this single piece of rubble and free me from my demise?" The first few days would no doubt have little to no thought involved in anything worthwhile, but after those few days, I would realize that the worst that could happen is that I die and go to heaven. So I have to sit here a while under rubble and think. Maybe God wants me to reflect on a few things before passing. I would think about religion, and the mysteries of the universe and how they fit together, probably soon realizing that they don't fit together, the universe is a creation of God and that without him, nothing would be in the order it is today.

One thing that I would be grateful for is that I had lived a life that I had wanted to live for the most part, and that it was a decent life. Mistakes were made, but you forgive and forget, and hopefully others do that for you as well. I would be grateful for my parents who took me to church every Sunday, and who put me in a private elementary school, and then transferred me into a public high school. It really gave me a clear sense on the reality of some things. I am a realist, and I see things the way that they are. I don't sugar coat anything, and I don't down play anything. Things happen the way they do for a reason and if that's not good enough, oh well.

You ask us if there are things that we would regret. I don't think that I would regret anything in all honesty, because regret implies perpetual remorse, and I do not dwell on my mistakes. I take them, learn from then, hold onto those lessons and move on.