I'd Rather Cry In A Porsche Than A Kia
Someone said they'd rather be rich and miserable rather than poor and miserable. I think that miserable is miserable and your bank account and/or toys don't make much difference. My feeling is, having all that stuff around you may make it worse: you finally have everything you want and none of it makes you feel better. It's all junk.
When we laugh about things, it's always about the hard times. Disc jockeys laugh about the horrid stations where they began, the dirty studios, the equipment that never worked reliably, the impossible situations they made possible. One local newspaper was located for many years in a real roach motel; the reporters had to shake out their coats to get rid of the cockroaches at the end of their shifts. Married couples will tell stories of their first homes and how inadequate the places were.
We feel a sense of pride in how we existed in the midst of squalor, of near-poverty, of make-do. We look back with some warm feelings on how we hung in there until better times came along. As we knew they would, somehow.
I have a '98 Chevvy Cavalier (Cava-lee-aay ... sounds better) which isn't much to look at, but it runs fine. Still, I think back to my ancient VW Karman Ghia, which I bought used for $450. Three out of the four cylinders worked, as well as a few other things (but not the heater). When I left the radio station each night, I'd take the Interstate 195 crossover and, as I started down the entrance ramp, floor the accelerator. By the time I got to the bottom and, perhaps, a mile beyond, I was up to 70mph. I couldn't get a speeding ticket if I tried. I miss that car and its uphill speed of 25mph tops on a good day.
Paris Hilton recently said she's bored. I think she ought to get a job in a garage, changing people's oil and filters, doing inspections and getting dirty. It's not the party life, but it's not boring. And she will have something interesting to talk about. She will never cry in a Kia, but maybe underneath one.
When we laugh about things, it's always about the hard times. Disc jockeys laugh about the horrid stations where they began, the dirty studios, the equipment that never worked reliably, the impossible situations they made possible. One local newspaper was located for many years in a real roach motel; the reporters had to shake out their coats to get rid of the cockroaches at the end of their shifts. Married couples will tell stories of their first homes and how inadequate the places were.
We feel a sense of pride in how we existed in the midst of squalor, of near-poverty, of make-do. We look back with some warm feelings on how we hung in there until better times came along. As we knew they would, somehow.
I have a '98 Chevvy Cavalier (Cava-lee-aay ... sounds better) which isn't much to look at, but it runs fine. Still, I think back to my ancient VW Karman Ghia, which I bought used for $450. Three out of the four cylinders worked, as well as a few other things (but not the heater). When I left the radio station each night, I'd take the Interstate 195 crossover and, as I started down the entrance ramp, floor the accelerator. By the time I got to the bottom and, perhaps, a mile beyond, I was up to 70mph. I couldn't get a speeding ticket if I tried. I miss that car and its uphill speed of 25mph tops on a good day.
Paris Hilton recently said she's bored. I think she ought to get a job in a garage, changing people's oil and filters, doing inspections and getting dirty. It's not the party life, but it's not boring. And she will have something interesting to talk about. She will never cry in a Kia, but maybe underneath one.
posted by Tom Carten at 2:27 PM
2 Comments:
You may be right. It's the hard times that give us character---not to mention those wonderful stories we dine out on.
I always said my marriage vows were multiple choice---and I took "better", "richer", "health", and "goodtimes". But the reality is that the strength of that marriage was forged by the difficult periods.
However, I'd still rather have the Porsche.
I always said my marriage vows were multiple choice -- and I took "better," "richer," "health," and "good times."
I've got to use that one some time. Where do I send the royalty check? Actually, it sounds like some of the celebrity marriages you hear about: all flowers and no roots. The wind blows and over they go.
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