Tracy Popolizio“Wanna make a bet?” Have you ever been asked that? Like Joey Michaels’ in Angela Ruth Strong’s, “The Water Fight Professional,” my dad always told me I should never bet. Ever. It didn’t matter if it was a piece of gum or two hundred dollars. Making bets was wrong. Besides, it never ended well for at least one of the parties involved.
People bet a lot of money on horseracing, sports, or they pop money into machines and pull a lever or push a button to make pictures spin, hopefully displaying a perfect match, causing lots of money to spew out of the mouth of the machine. Some people make bets with each other over who can run the fastest, or drink their milkshake the quickest. (By the way, don’t try that one. Talk about brain freeze!)
When Chance first approached Joey, he found himself too late on the receiving end of a bad deal. Not only did he feel he couldn’t back out, but he determined to win—even before finding out what he needed to do. I have a feeling he deeply regretted his decision to make the bet in the first place. Especially as the story continues, and we see all the trouble Joey finds himself in because of the bet.
While the story ends well for Joey, it’s not always a happy ending for those who make bets. Can you think of a time when you might have made a bet with someone? How did it end? Did you regret it? The next time you might find yourself in a situation like Joey, take a minute to remember all he went through.
Photo by Austin Kehmeier on Unsplash
Kristen Gwen
Elise Haroldson
Julia N. White