It's been said life is all about choices.

Delano Swartz of Palmerton recently made a choice that paid off in spades.On Sept. 5, Swartz began the day much like he would any other ordinary day with a few bucks to spare on instant lottery tickets.In what would be a precursor of things to come, Swartz played a $5 Funky 5's ticket at Pappy's Corner Store in Bowmanstown, and won $40.From there, he traveled to the Sunoco gas station in Palmerton, where he bought another Funky 5's ticket, which brought him another $100.Next up was a stop at Country Harvest Family Markets in Palmerton, where Swartz again purchased a Funky 5's ticket, and hit another $50.But, it wasn't until his fourth stop of the day, a return to Pappy's, where Swartz would really strike pay dirt.It was at that moment when Swartz decided to play a $10 Aces High ticket. He scratched off a match to a black number under the ticket.His grand prize: A $25,000 winning ticket.Initially, Swartz thought he won $25; that is, until he received confirmation from a store clerk that his ticket was actually a $25,000 winner."I said, 'Oh, that's nice,'" said Swartz, 79. "I don't get worked up."It was an altogether different story for Linda, his wife of 46 years."I came home from work at the (Carbon County) courthouse, and he said there's a ticket on the table, and that I should look at it," Linda said."I said I'm tired, so I laid down for 20 minutes, and when I got up, I looked at the ticket, and I couldn't believe it."Linda added, "I thought it was a fake ticket."Delano, a Korean War veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, said he used a quarter to rub open the lucky ticket.That same night, Linda said her husband treated her to a nice dinner. Earlier that day, he bought a person he knew a dinner, she said."He's very kindhearted," Linda said.Cheryl Frey, store manager at Pappy's, said Delano's hit marks the second-highest win at the store since it opened in 1998."We're very happy," Frey said. "This is only the second big hit we had."Frey said the highest prize ever won at the store was $100,000, won on a $5 Christmas-themed ticket about two years ago.As for what the couple plans to do with their winnings, Delano said not to worry, it will be accounted for."I'm married," he said. "My wife will take care of it."Linda revealed their plans."We have three children and three grandchildren, so we'll give some to them," she said."And, we'll be taking a vacation to Raystown Lake next July."