Nice Work If You Can Get It

Just this once, for today, I'm going to write about someone else's life because my own daily life has been boring in the extreme. This friend of mine writes to me and his other fishing buddies this morning that he flew down to the Bahamas a couple of weeks ago for an impromptu fishing trip. He describes meeting the plane at the airport—a plane that slowly is revealed as a private one—the drinks at the lodge, the various other luxuries. (The fishing was actually kind of tough, but no matter how rich you are, you can't make the wind stop blowing if the wind wants to blow.)

And it gradually becomes apparent that our friend has gone fishing with some rich guy in the most luxurious way possible at one of the best fishing spots on the planet—free, gratis, and for nothing. He got this because he's knowledgeable, amiable, and because he runs a fly fishing shop. In this gang of anglers you're expected to report on a trip when you come back, and you're expected to balance practical information and amusing asides. The "Lessons Learned" section typically appears at the end of the report, and the first two items on his list are these:

1) Flying private is the ONLY way to go
2) I'm very poor

I have myself often been struck by how poor I am. I walk around Philadelphia or New York or Washington or London or Paris. I browse catalogs and travel brochures. I watch cars go by, or hang out with my relatives, who all made piles of money in real estate while my own dad pursued his own dream—being a college professor. (Intellectual riches, and other inner riches, are all very well but just try and buy a plane with them and see how far you get.) I didn't miss any meals growing up and I haven't missed any lately. I'm not poor poor. But like my friend, sometimes it comes home to me how different my life is from rich people's. The only thing is that the last time he realized that, it was because he went on a fancy fishing trip, and the last time I realized it was because I didn't. I went to the same office those four days that I'm going to this morning, and in fact, you'll have to excuse me but I need to get my clothes out of the dryer.