Merle and Patricia Butler of Red Bud, Ill., have a new assignment: As winners of $158 million, after taxes, they must now learn to live like Mitt and Ann Romney. Build a garage with 3,600 square feet of floor space and a car elevator in it. That sort of thing.
The Butlers are a retired couple. He was a computer systems analyst until he retired very recently. He is 65. His wife, Patricia, is only 62. They like Red Bud, a town of 3,700, and plan to stay there.
Just a guess, but from the tone of the interview they had with the Associated Press, Red Bud will be a very fortunate community for many years into the future when the Butlers complete their planning. The Butlers sound like a rational, compassionate couple who will deal with their good fortune wisely and well.
They may pass on that garage.
— Emerson Lynn, jr.
