I won! I won! I won!

Remember the scene in "A Christmas Story," when Darren McGavin's character wins "a major award"? He dances around the room, chanting "I won! I won! I won!" He wins the leg lamp, of course, and he's quite thrilled about it, even though he's not quite a connoisseur of such things. I know the feeling.

A few weeks ago during a bored moment, I visited the St. Paul Pioneer Press' "Contests" page and entered a contest to receive tickets to the May 9 Billy Joel concert at the Xcel Energy Center. Lo and behold, "I won! I won! I won!" So I dutifully dropped into the Pi Press lobby this morning and picked 'em up. Of course, they're not the crème de la crème of seats, but all the seats started at $51.50 or something. So I got at least $200 worth of tickets for a great big fat nuthin'. Very satisfying no matter the outcome.

Is the Piano Man my favorite singer? Nah, but I hear he puts on a great show. Would I pay good money to go to one of his concerts? Probably not. But am I delighted to be going anyway? You bet! It's a little like the rush you get when you find a designer shirt for $5 and it fits. Would you have purchased it for $200? No, but it'd become a favorite item if you got it cheap. So, sing us a song, Billy. We'll see ya next week.