To celebrate my mother’s 90th birthday, the whole family went on a cruise to Mexico. Mom was never a drinker, but the dessert bar at the nightly buffet had her hooked. She never gambled either, but we did manage to pose her in front of a slot machine ready to drop a quarter into a “one-armed bandit”. We later “pranked” her by showing the picture to her Sunday School class and asking the other class members (all in their 80s) to pray for one who had lost her soul to the evils of gambling. Even the minister had a good laugh knowing that Mom prided herself on being vice-free. The truth is that my mother and a lot of people who claim they don’t gamble are indeed playing games of chance outside of any casino. Drivers carry auto insurance and homeowners cannot get a mortgage without a homeowner’s policy. Instead of gambling against a casino, they pay an insurance company that is also gambling against any claims being filed. One other gamble my mom made was to ignore her HVAC maintenance and cleaning service. I suppose she “won” that gamble because her HVAC system kept running until the day she died. When her estate sold the house, the new owners became like that person who plays a slot machine that has not paid out big in a while. They hit the “jackpot” when they discovered that the entire HVAC unit needed to be replaced due to mom’s neglect. Fortunately, they had a home warranty that covered the costs. Mom was just trying to save a few dollars on her tight budget and did not understand why regular maintenance and cleaning on a home’s HVAC system is a gamble where everybody wins.