Player: Edwin Holmes-Lauder
Name: Kenneth Alvin Montgrey
Born
Place: Saint John, NB
Date: Friday, December 13, 1974
Family
Father: Henery Peter Stratton (D.O.B. March 17, 1939)
Mother: Jenine Cara Montgrey (D.O.B. December 24, 1956)
Sister: Dianne Kathleen Montgrey (D.O.B. April 7, 1978)

History (interview on local radio show Loyalist City in July of 1999)

Loyalist City: We’re here today talking with Mr. Kenneth Montgrey who, last month, won the 3.6 million dollar Lotto 6-49 jackpot. So, Mr. Montgrey, how does it feel to be the city’s newest multi-millionaire?
Kenneth: *laughs* Well, ah… not that much different actually. I got some new toys: game system, huge TV and all, but I’m still living in the same place.
LC: You have no plans to move into a better part of town?
Ken: Why would I? I like my south end apartment, good neighbours, good location. And I recently bought the building. Gonna fix ’er up and keep the rents the same.
LC: That’s very generous of you, Mr. Montgrey.
Ken: Don’t look so stunned, and please, call me Ken. I have the money to do it, so why not? Besides, two of ’em lost relatives in the explosion.
LC: And I understand you’ve donated a sizable amount to the disaster relief fund.
Ken: Yep. Two point six million to be exact. I got the news about the lottery almost two weeks after the explosion, so I’m thinking that Fate may have had her hand in it somehow.
LC: That’s… over two thirds of your winnings.
Ken: Yea, it is. I’d never need that much, so I figure I might as well put it where it can do some good.
LC: Has this money helped you rebuild your family ties?
Ken: Well, my mother and I talk regularly, and she says she doesn’t care about the money. She’s never been materialistic. My sister, on the other hand, is probably even more distant than before. Last I talked to her, she was concerned that this money was a trap laid by the devil to lead me down the path of corruption or something. *sigh* She’s been this way for years now, saying money, video games, rock & roll, ice cream, and pretty much anything fun is evil. Just like dear old dad.
LC: Your father? Who is he?
Ken: Henery Peter Stratton. You might know him as the Right Reverend Brother Peter.
LC: The televangelist?
Ken: Yep. Live everyday from Calgary, Alberta, telling us all how we’re all going to hell unless we hand our lives over to God and our money over to him. He’ll probably deny ever being in a common-law marriage with a Wiccan priestess half his age, then running like hell after her second kid, my sister, was born. And yes, my mother is still practices Wicca; she’s the leader of a local coven, though I doubt she’d appreciate me mentioning any specifics over the air.
LC: So, *chuckles* do you think your mother cast a spell so you’d win the money.
Ken: *annoyed* Look, I may not believe in Wicca but I’d appreciate you not making light of it. You’re a Catholic, right? So how’d you like it if people came in here making fun of how you eat human flesh and drink blood every Sunday, all given to you by a 50 year-old guy in a dress? I thought so. I may not believe in… well, much of anything really, but at least I have the courtesy not to make fun of others’ beliefs because they’re different.
LC: Um… moving on to another topic—
Ken: *abrupt* Good idea.
LC: Do you have a… philosophy that’s guided your life?
Ken: I do actually. Strange as it may seem, it comes from Christianity. And Judaism. And Islam. And Wicca. And most religions around the world.
Rejoice. Carpe momentum, seize the moment. Live each day like it’s gonna be your last; hang out with your mind, have yourself a gas. *chuckles* Celebrate the temporary, for it is all we have.
LC: As it harms no one else, do as thou wilt?
Ken: Exactly. So you actually do know more than ignorant superstitions. I’m… almost impressed.
LC: You say you don’t believe in much of anything. Would you say that you’re an atheist?
Ken: Well, that’s a bit of a tough one. I don’t have any set belief structure, but I do have an idea that there’s something out there beyond our limited selves. For example, I was born on a Friday the 13th. Unusual, yes, but I had to be born on one day of the year. Then I had to stay in the hospital for 13 days of observation. Fast-forward 8 years. Mom is declared an unfit mother by a Christian fundamentalist social worker on a tip by an anonymous Christian fundamentalist neighbour (who both went to the same church I later learned). Fast-forward through five years of repressive tedium for me in one foster home and five years of hell for my sister in another one on the other side of the city. On my 13th birthday, my mother is finally allowed to visit me once every four weeks for the next year; 13 visits in total. During this time I started playing the lottery; fake Ids are wonderful. *chuckles* Then, 13 years to the day after I start playing the lottery, I win. This also happens to be 13 days after the big explosion. I’m not saying that it’s proof positive of anything, it just makes you think.
So, I guess in response to your question, no. I’m not an atheist. If pressed, I’d have to classify myself as a Seeker, like Roger Williams. He got kicked out of Massachusetts for unpopular religious beliefs, went a bit south, formed a new colony, started the First Baptist church. Then, a few years later, he abandoned all organized religion to go seeking Truth. A Seeker.
LC: Well, Mr. Montgrey… sorry, Ken, our time is running short, so one last question. Do you have any big plans for the future?
Ken: Well, I was thinking of traveling around the world for a year. After that, I’ll probably end up back here and live the good life. Nice and simple. And a PS2.
LC: That’s all the time we have today. Thank you for this interview Ken.
Ken: My pleasure, Mr. Karson.

Other Notes:

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