I tell people that I’ve only won two things in my life: a Lionel train set during 7th grade and the 1969 draft lottery.  I was a senior at NC State on selection night in 1969, studying with the radio tuned into the lottery.  When September 14th, my birthday, was selected as the first pick, I was a bit shocked.  However, I was scheduled to enter the Air Force after graduation via the ROTC program, so the lottery had no real effect on me, thank goodness.

The next day on campus, everyone asked the same question, "How did you fare in the lottery?"  When I told people who didn’t know me very well that my birthday was picked as Number 1, they gave me a sick look.