“34 79 23 6 12 and Powerball 7.”
Kris Kaylor sat in his pickup truck on the edge of the Natchez bluff. He listened intently while a man read the winning power ball numbers. His hands holding the ticket shook as a cold chill went down his spine. In the past 30 seconds, his life just changed.
He won the $500 million Powerball lottery jackpot.
There, on the banks of the Mississippi River, an out-of-work factory worker was now one of the wealthiest men in Mississippi. He felt his heart race. He knew one thing though: No one could find out. Ever. Not even his extended family. And he knew what he had to do next.
Kris Kaylor had a plan.
The Oxford Square
Two weeks later, he claimed the jackpot anonymously. He immediately quit his job at the MiniMart, put his trailer up for sale and moved to the Oxford, Mississippi. He had always loved Ole Miss as a kid, even though he knew he could never afford to go there. Now he lived two blocks off the Square in a small condo paid for with cash.
The next thing he did was enroll in Ole Miss’ College of Business. Kris had seen too many lottery winners go broke soon after they had won. It was time for him to learn about his money and how harness it. His new-found fortune was like the river he had grown up with; he knew he could quickly drown in it.
Kris soon befriended his accounting professor, Dr. Bob Dollarhyde. One afternoon, he went to Dr. Dollarhyde’s office and revealed his secret to him. As he sat across from his professor, he said, “I’ve read that you’re the best. I need your help. I’ll pay you — but really need some advice on how to set some things up.”
Dr. Dollarhyde sat there stunned. He then stammered. “OK.” And from that moment on, accounts were set up. Income began to stream. And Kris’ immense wealth quietly multiplied.
Jenni Frise was a first-generation college student from Eupora, Mississippi. The daughter of factory workers, she realized that education was her ticket to a better life than her parent’s. But it was so expensive. Her tuition was rising like South Delta floodwaters, threatening to wash her dreams away. Brunette with glasses, she wiped her eyes as she sat in the coffee shop on the Oxford Square. A nice man served her coffee and said, “Everything OK?” The girl, stressed out over school and her finances unloaded on a total stranger.
“NO! I have dreams of becoming an accountant. But I’m going to have to dropout. My mother lost her job last week and my dad is worried about his job. I can’t afford to stay here.”
The waiter put her coffee down and said, “What’s your name?”
The girl, a bit put back by the stranger’s request, told him anyway. “Jennifer. Jennifer Frise. My friends call me Jenni.”
The man smiled and said, “Don’t worry Jenni, things will be OK.”
Jenni wiped her nose and thanked the kind man. Little did she know her life was about to be changed, too.
The waiter walked back into the kitchen and made a phone call, “Doc, this is Kris, we have our first winner. Contact the bursar’s office and pay Jennifer Frise’s tuition until she graduates.”
An older couple sat in the booth in the back. The woman was crying as the husband held her hand. Kris brought them some coffee and slowly walked past but remained within earshot. “I’m sorry honey. I know what the doctor said but we can’t afford the treatment for me. I’m going to make sure you are well taken care of after I die.” The woman burst into sobs immediately.
Kris walked back into the kitchen and asked his manager, “Do you know them?”
“Yes,” his boss said, “Edna and Frank Marsella. They live a couple of blocks off the Square in a small cottage. Good people. Donate a lot of volunteer time to the school and Oxford.” Kris thanked his boss and walked out of his earshot. He picked up his smartphone and once again called a familiar number.
“Yes, call Ed at the hospital and make sure Frank Marsella’s treatment is paid for.”
A few minutes later, Kris watched as Frank answered his cellphone. He saw him pause and then drop the phone. Kris picked up dirty dishes three tables away and just smiled.
Judy Bowen was a single-mom with two kids. She had left after her husband Billy Jack had nearly beat her unconscious. She was a woman of great courage and now was desperately trying to rebuild her life by taking night classes at Ole Miss. But she lacked the funds and the energy to go on. And now that it was Christmas, she was faced with a terrible choice: Rent or Christmas.
She looked at her waiter and said, “Did you ever just want to give up?”
Kris smiled and said, “Only on days that end with Y.”
Judy grinned at the joke. “No seriously. My kids are so good but there won’t be a Christmas for them this year.”
Kris said, “Why not?”
Judy unloaded her whole story on the nice man bringing her a cup of coffee. Kris sat down and said, “I know how I can help.” Judy looked at him suspiciously but then he said, “I’ll buy your coffee today.”
Judy laughed. And when she got home from class that night, she found $500 in an envelope with a note that read, “Buy your kids some presents. Santa.”
And in a way, Kris Kaylor did become Santa. He quietly found ways to use his new-found fortune to help others. To bring gifts to good people. He developed a network to find out who were truly in need and then paid a tuition here, helped with a house note there. And over the next five years, he assisted over 2,000 people. All quietly. All anonymously.
Everyone in Oxford just knew him as the kind man who worked in the local coffee shop. Everyone except two people. One was his best friend Dr. Bob Dollarhyde. And the other was his new wife, Judy Bowen. The day she married the nice coffee-shop waiter, she learned her kids would never have to worry about Christmas presents again.
Late one Christmas Eve, Kris looked at his sleeping wife and realized he had truly won life’s lottery after all. It wasn’t about the money. It was what he was now able to do to help others. He payed his good fortune forward. And as Oxford’s secret Santa drifted off to sleep, Kris dreamed of his winning numbers:
“34 79 23 6 12 and Powerball 7.”
