Thorston Veblen wrote a book back at the end of the gilded age called “Theory of the Leisure Class,” about those who were wallowing in wealth so great they struggled at finding places to spend it.
This week Karen and I made our pre-Christmas trip to Dallas to see and be seen. We ended up eating at a Mexican food restaurant in Highland Park Village, now a chic place for all the upscale Highland Park folks to eat. While eating you could look out the window at all the luxury goods stores from Prada to Hermes, who produce the $5o,ooo Birkin handbag for women. The restaurant used to be owned by Pete Dominguez, called Casa Dominguez, the most famous Mexican restaurant in Dallas and we used to go to the movie theater in the village and go over to eat with Pete afterward. The prices were such that young couples could do it all and still have some change left in their pocket. In the reflection in the window I could almost see those young folks instead of the mid-seventies couple.
Now it so upscale that if country people stop to look in the window, the police urge them to keep moving.
You can take the boy out of Cotton Gin, but you can never take Cotton Gin out of the boy.
Until you have known rich people one doesn’t realize what a hard job it is to be rich. Living in the right upscale house is a requirement along with wearing the right exclusive clothing that others can recognize, throwing and being invited to exclusive parties along with being able to tell of trips that will cause others to be envious. The competition is fierce and when they stumble, they are cut out of the herd.
In real life, if you can be with family this Christmas and count five friends that will stand with you on dark nights, you are rich yourself.
