Everyone Won

The race was fine, just an out and back, which was good because then I could give my dad a high five as we passed each other on the way back. I came in third behind a little seven year old punk and a tall, slender woman who played volleyball for BYU Hawaii before she transferred to Provo. After I finished running, I trotted to the car where I got my camera so I could take pictures of Dad when he finished. I did fine, and Dad rocked it.

Afterwards we milled over to the parking lot where we had first arrived and waited to find out about the raffle. Everyone stood in front of the speakers the race directors had set up, sipping water out of soggy Dixie cups. I sat down backwards on a chair the bushy-eyebrowed man had occupied before. Dad stood nearby, sweat drying on his forehead.

"Ok everyone, we're going to get started with the raffle in just a few minutes. The prizes are lined up here on the table, and we're going to see if we can't get them out to some of you." The race director picked the ice cream bucket from the table behind him and we waited for him to pull the first ticket.

"475689? 475689, are you here? You have just won a $15 gift certificate to Zupa's. Congratulations!"

A gangly girl with a swishing ponytail trotted to the front of the crowd and accepted a white envelope from the man.

"475995, are you out there? We've got a free car wash and Dan & Dixie's and a game of mini-golf down at the Freeman's course."

This ritual went on for several minutes, the old man reading out the numbers as the audience waited, holding their breaths. Would they get picked? Who would win?

475284. 475119. 475382. Shoe discount, clothes coupon, free dinner, laser treatment. The tickets kept coming out of the bucket, and the pile of prizes on the table did not seem to be getting any smaller.

"475228, you've just won a free shake from Bully's and a car wash from the car wash on Center Street, congratulations!"

I looked down at my ticket in alarm and stumbled to the front to obtain my much desired white envelope. Not but four tickets later, my dad's number was announced. A dinner for two at Olive Garden and a 15% discount at Runner's Corner. What could be better?

More and more, on and on the name's kept coming. Just when it seemed the man would stop picking tickets and not a single person in the crowd wasn't the proud new owner of a lucky raffle prize, he would dive into the bucket again, pulling out a new ticket with the same flourish as he had with the first ticket. He was the only one who didn't seem to notice that every other person there had already won a prize and the specialness of it was rubbing off.

When the last ticket finally disappeared, the thanked everyone for coming and shouted out the date and time of the next CUCIL race in Utah. I stood up, stretching, and looked at my dad.

"Wow. That was a lot of raffle tickets!" I tapped my white envelope against my chin, widening my eyes in disbelief at my dad.

"Yeah, when they said everyone wins I didn't think they actually meant it. But I guess they did--let's go get a shake from Bully's and head on home"