Did you see that John Walton, heir to the Wal-mart riches, died flying an experimental plane in Wyoming? Apparently his fortune, estimated by Fortune at $18 billion (US-style billion) was not enough to get him a rational source of pleasure. So he died foolishly, no doubt leaving behind nightmare-ridden bystanders who saw him crash.

I have been asking myself what I would do if I had $18 billion. Setting aside for a moment the noble causes I would support and the instruments I would buy (hurdy-gurdy, for one), I have made my first decision. I have just come back from a trip to Iceland. It involved a dreary plane ride and serious jet lag. So I and the DH discussed this, and we are going to get a small cruise ship and set up a household in it. Then we will invite any friends who want to come and will tell the captain to take us to Iceland or wherever. No jet lag. We want a cruise ship because they have stabilizers which would help prevent seasickness.

We thought about a yacht, but yachts just seem too small. Keep in mind that my idea of risk is eating food that has been frozen in the refrigerator-freezer instead of in the deep-freeze.

That still leaves the question of my cats. The cats love us and they love their house. No kind of catsitting, no matter how luxurious, will change that. So, just as I was getting into bed, I had a brilliant idea. We will pay house-movers to jack up our house and load it on the cruise ship. That way the cats can go with us and still be "at home."   
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What would you do if you had $18,200,000,000?