Bright Ideas

Those are the first words of a song from the movie “Cabaret,” starring Liza Minnelli. The song goes on to say, “Money makes the world go around.” I must have believed that. Never having any excess money, I bought two Powerball lottery tickets every week. I had selected numbers for tickets, based on Ekalaka’s zip code.

I wanted to pave Ekalaka’s streets. I had not thought that problem through. I would need much more than the paving cost to cover maintenance and repair. And costs would go on and on.

What is the town’s total budget? Millions don’t last as long as they used to; when the lottery pr...