He's heaven on wheels.
A Brooklyn, New York, superintendent won a $7 million lottery jackpot and promptly quit his job to take a cross-country motorcycle trip spreading the word of God, he said Friday.
Rafael Gomez, 65, and a group of Bible lovin' biker pals plan to head to Florida and Vegas on the bikes now that he never has to work again, he said.
"The boss said, 'You're not gonna leave me right, Raf?' And I said, 'Boss, consider this my resignation,'" said Gomez, who lives in Bushwick.
In early April, Gomez bought a Cash4Life ticket at Bles Broadway food in Bushwick with the numbers 3, 6, 8, 9, and 35, with Cash Ball number 4."
He soon learned he'd hit the jackpot in the April 4 drawing. "I was mystified when I realized I won," he said. "I put the ticket in a bible at home for safe keeping."
On Friday, he took a $4.4 million lump sum after taxes at the Resorts World Casino in Queens.
Gomez, who is a former Marine, said his longtime dream has been to tour the U.S. on a motorcycle.
"When I got out of the Marines in '75, I always wanted to ride a motorcycle and take a countrywide tour. Well, this time, I get to do it," he said. "I have a few guys and I'm going to put a group together."
He said he'll "spread the gospel" and "help the homeless" with some of his new dough.
The name of motorcycle group? "It's gonna be called the Bushwick Saints," he said.
Cash4Life is a multi-state lottery game currently played in nine US states. Starting July 1, Cash4Life will be drawn every day of the week.
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Bible thumping???? Hmmmmm. NY Post. Not the most pc title. A negative inference against Christians.
Thank you Mr. Gomez for spreading the Word and congratulations on your win.
Outstanding !!! Congrats Mr. Gomez. Have some wonderful trips and enjoy your newly acquired wealth !!!
Love the "Boss, consider this my resignation" part. Perfect, just perfect.
Congratulations! Mr. Rafael Gomez. Go right ahead and fulfill your life's goal. We are still a free Country.
Congratulations to Rafael Gomez on both being a winner and a good Christian.
And Artist,
PC aside, NY Post that is just rude.
"$7 million lottery jackpot . . took a $4.4 million lump sum after taxes"
$4,431,280 after required withholdings of 24% federal, 8.8% state, 3.9% city.
37% federal tax bracket, so knock off another 13% . . should clear around $3.5 million.
Invested in VWEAX would presently yield around $16,000 monthly dividends before taxes . . so he could definitely thump some bibles on that budget!
Yea, article says Bible loving which I can live with so not certain why they have a different article title.
The term may be viewed as a slur by many, but l read where it says " a person who expounds or follows the teachings of the bible in an aggressively evangelical way."
In times past, the bible would be slammed down on the lectern,or a raised fist brought down on the bible to drive the preacher's point home to the congregation. Just brush it off, stop being so soft, it's no big deal.
I am glad my fellow Christians get it.
Trivial things did not bother The Christ- Matt 5:11,12.
For those who know the truth, here is what those verses actually say vs the twisted interpretation. There is no reference to trivial things. It actually says the opposite and refers to such things as evil. Beware those who pervert scripture for their own needs.
Matthew 5:11-12 New International Version (NIV)
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Imagine the outrage if they had written Talmud-thumping or Koran-thumping.
I know. And Imagine if one of us lp'ers misquoted and twisted verses from the Koran. Someone would have a hissy fit. Lol
l wouldnt expect some people to understand. Here's one to wrap your head around. At John 14: 2,3 Jesus says he is going to prepare a place for his disciples. How is it that many claim this means " Them" - Jesus words were uttered to his followers 2000 years ago. Lets not twist scripture, if you please!
oh go wrap your head around a toilet for crying out loud. Quit insulting others you knowitall.
Lol lol. We all know who and what he is. Lol Ahab the Arab.
How can you be insulted by scripture? In the book of Revelation Jesus says he is going to vomit a congregation out of his mouth. You think you got it bad? Lighten up, it's just a discussion, no harm intended.
You know nothing about me, do not walk in my shoes, do not patronize me.
He always tries the same tricks.
Just brush it off, stop being so soft, it's no big deal.
So says the guy who literally whined about a few of his posts being given one-star ratings.
I'm not religious at all, but the term is nearly always used as a pejorative.
You the one that responded to my post, perhaps in future you ought not, if you don't like return fire.
Yes he does and I am sick of it. For the longest time, I ignored him but no longer.
Well English is not his native language. Lol. The most bets seem to be on Nigeria or Ethiopia. One Russian guess. Likely an "early release."
You being a condescending jerk and all no surprise you trying to intimidate me. Everyone sees and knows what you are all about you hypocrite.
Hey listen up. We had a run in with each other YEARS ago, and l stayed the heck away from you ever since. There has been zero communication between you and l over that period of time. You the one that decided you wanted to throw your 2 cents into the discussion , so excuse me if you upset about my response. We both not that important, so if you looking for hypocrisy , look no further than yourself.
"You the one"...seeeeeeeee lol
As for being from Russia,Nigeria, Ethiopia - you guessing is some of the worst l have ever seen. By the way Ethiopians were some of the first believers to become Christians. Besides Acts 4: 13 should straighten you out.
We hit the nail on the head. Good guessing all. You the one! You guessing. Someone needs a refresher course in English as a second language.
Very bad nice try, l just happen to be of German descent . Btw, how's that project l told you to work on coming along?
I am getting so many pm's cannot keep up. Yes, all, I agree he is delusional. Let him ramble.
no, YOU listen up. Not that it makes a hill of beans but I posted first on this thread so yea, it was my two cents worth. YOU decided to post some idiotic nonsense and post scriptures. But hey, soften up, lighten up or whatever you said.
Yes you are right about one thing you ran into me with your nasty comments and I stopped reading your posts years but you just dont stop you hypocrite.
Lol, I agree let him ramble. I bet he can carry the conversation by himself
Right, whatever you say, after all you were the first to comment on this topic.
A very good point since he is moving into a manic delusional state.
Can you even comprehend what is being posted? Good grief, ok grab your toys and leave the sandbox.
Like this time?
ok. You won this thread. I almost had an accident with my cup of tea when I read this. I nominate this for best post of the year. I am laughing so much that tears are running down my face.
OH my, this is priceless! Excellent Mikeintexas, hysterical. Hahahahahahahaha.
I wish I could add that post to my signature line. That post really should go viral.
Speaking of signature lines, I read the other day that Americans were by far donating more (90% of the total so far) to rebuild Notre Dame than were the French. (one source)
Yea, I read that story. Most of the money came from small donations and the 2 French bilionaires never paid. Sad. The walls are still in danger of collapsing. Notre Dame University paid their $100,000 donation and lots of alumni have made small donations. Virtually every Catholic institution and students in the US are sending money, even elementary schools.
Wow, 2014- 5 years ago. l am impressed. Let's go down memory lane for a moment, shall we?
You conveniently forget that you PM me, going off on a fellow LP member back in 2013. Does that ring a bell?
Texas Panhandle
United States
Member #136839
December 20, 2012
1569 Post
Hope you don't mind a P.M.
I totally agree with what you said and started to reply and quote you and say it bore repeating. I've noticed that about him, that he is contentious, seems to take it personally if someone disagrees w/ him.
* Because l did not take you serious back then, you took another route on going after me. Funny how your " he is contentious, seems to take it personally if someone disagrees w/him " turns out to be a trait you have.
Talk about much ado about nothing and trivial. Who hasn't said the same thing at least 10 times in a pm about a lp member. No comparison. He agreed with a comment you made.
I bet you saved it since it was the only time you received such a pm from anyone on lp.
Sounds like someone has a bro crush on MIT because no other guy would have saved such a trivial, non-entertaining message. lol lol
"the term is nearly always used as a pejorative."
That's true, but the term tends to be reserved for those who have the foolish idea that others need their help to be (better) christians.
"You guessing. Someone needs a refresher course in English as a second language."
It's certainly possible that he meant "Your guessing" but whether it's their first language or not those who understand proper English should recognize that it's grammatically correct as written if that's what he intended.
Your foolishness is astounding. In my not " so good" English, even my 4-year-old nephew knows there was a 4 months difference.
That was before I found out what a douche nozzle you were, but yeah...my bad. As far as being contentious; pot, meet kettle. Your problem is when you stir up the crap, you do it so vigorously you wind up getting a bunch of it on you.
"Fellow LP member". That makes it sound as though we're all lottery playing comrades in here. I've never had any exchanges with 95% of the members in here and outside of a dozen or two others, could not care less what the rest of you think of me. (Unlike you, who seems to validate your self-worth by how many stars you get on a post....and, if you are curious, I'd be glad to tell you why I down-voted your posts - it wasn't b/c of the subject but b/c of your own pathetic need for attention)
BTW, I didn't go back searching through your posts to find that; I took a screen shot of it at the time b/c I thought it hilarious that you were calling yourself names. I figured you were posting w/ two different accounts and hadn't noticed you were still signed into one while thinking you were replying to the other. You had been a member in here for a couple of yrs. at that time, I figured you had sussed out the quote feature in a reply by then.
That's what I thought. I've sent similar messages to quite a few others as a way of showing I was on their side, supported their side of things but simply did not care to wade into the argument.
I've made some pretty good online friends after doing that; many of us email each other and know each others "real names".
l don't give rats A what you think. It was you that dug deep to bring this gem up from 2014, why, because it bothered you back then, and you hung onto it for 5 years, and you call me a douche? The only reason l brought up your crap was because l am not in the habit of deleting emails. Do us both a favor, just block me or not respond to what l post at all. l have given that advice to a few here as well, but they constantly want to engage me in conversation or get into it with me, and when things do not go their way, well. Goodbye & have a nice life!
I can't block you; I am a standard, non-paying member. Why don't you block ME, douche nozzle? You should know better than to tangle with me by now, but you must be a glutton for punishment. Unless you block me, I will respond to you if I want and there's not a thing you can do about it. Your indignant outrage is amusing.
I told you I didn't dig that up; I had saved it when you wrote it and I recently posted it to another forum so those people could have a laugh.
Lol, pushed a button on the whiney azzz? Isnt it amazing? How we all got to be the age we are WITHOUT HIM?
Oh cool a message board fight about something IMO is very trivial, but this fight is like Clemenza telling Michael every so often they need wars "to get rid of the bad blood". Can't remember if that was before or after Clemenza told Rocco to "leave the gun, take the cannoli".
For those finding the term "Bible-thumping" offensive, Haley Lerner and Natalie O'Neill from the NY Post wrote the article.
<meanwhile, back on Gilligan's Island> Mr Gomez, be careful riding that bike down to FL and out west to Vegas
Insert Gilligan's Island theme
also don't forget to check you gear for dangerous hitch hikers as well Mr Gomez
had heard tale more recently about a snake that made it from Florida to Nevada the hard way jejejeje
Typical leftist over there at NY Post...insult millions of people in the process.
I agree. That phrase implies "a brainless lemming" unable to think. NY Post you don't get a passing grade on this one. The winner is doing a good thing that is benefiting people.
Even though we all love lotteries, it is good to see many members of lp staying "woke."
Yep and according to the KJV it's:
11: "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake."
and
12: "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
Interesting how the KJV says "when men" and some of the newer interpretations of it says "when people" and probably because in the Latin Vulgate it's "maledixerint".
When I was on the Christian message boards, they yelled at people that didn't quote from the KJV.
For the guy who is following my every move..
So, you're a degenerate alcoholic?
That explains a lot.
congratulation @gamaez for being millions of dollars winner and th good thoughts you have over the work GOD
Hope Rafael wasn't riding with this group.
Now that was sad, you enjoying your retirement, getting out & some distracted driver takes your life. Could have been talking on the phone or not paying attention to what they ought to be doing. Out here in CA, it's been said that your 1st fine for holding your phone & driving is a grand. Yeah- $1,000.
* On a side note, l wonder if Rafa is going to tell the folks he bumps into in Fl & Vegas that he is not only spreading the word, but is also a lottery winner?