Are Rich People Mean?

Over the years I've been asked in various ways about the attitude and demeanor of the rich toward their servants and house staff - which obviously includes moi, n'est-ce pas?

Question: "Are rich people nice?"
Moi: "Well, in a phony sort of way I guess, especially at cocktail parties. But in general, their 'being nice' is not within my daily experience."

Question: "Do they treat you well?"
Moi: "Pay-wise yes, and I have no bruises to report. But their lack of appreciation for anything anyone does for them is hurtful. Not just for me, but for all the house-staff."

Question: "Are the rich always happy?"
Moi: "No, not by a long shot!  In fact, even though they have life's major financial stresses completely eliminated (like coming up with monthly rent or getting enough food and health care for their kids) they still manage to whine and complain about every damned little thing in their path, from sunup until sundown - and they do so without any self reflection, shame or embarrassment as far as I can tell."  

But now comes a Forbes article that addresses the topic from another direction. Written by health and psychology contributor Alice G. Walton, it's entitled "Rich People Are Mean, but Does It Pay To Be Nice?" 

I'll not be a spoiler, but the humor in the title sets the pace for an intelligent look at what money does to people, and more importantly how the rich relate to others around them.

Here's a link to Alice's article in Forbes. In these days when the one-percent are under a microscope, I promise you'll not find it a waste of time.

As always, thanks for stopping in this evening.

Andrew

September Already!

Oh my gosh, where did the summer go? Things have been so crazy busy around here the last couple of months I haven't even had time to get a decent suntan yet and suddenly September pops up out of nowhere.

I think it was the flashing lights in the School Zone today that finally woke me up. Like, this is really happening; the lazy hazy days are over and it's time to face the music.

Cooler weather will be welcome of course, and fun football events will be starting up any day now. But this also puts us on notice that the holidays are lurking and headed our way.

In mid-July I mentioned that rich people are already staking out their party dates, and I still don't have a clear answer on that yet. But party invitations are quick and easy to crank out, so I'm not really worried.

My serious task this month, however, is to hook up with our Christmas card designer to get that all going. Then I have to come up with a list of addresses for our calligrapher so she can get started on the envelopes.

And there's the rub. We have to figure out from one year to the next who's on the greeting card list. Like, who is being snubbed this year for whatever unforgivable or tragic reasons? Who are the newcomers trying to jump into this crowd? Worst of all, has anyone on the card list died this last year and we forgot all about it? Oops!

It takes a lot of snooping and sidling up to social secretaries to get this all worked out. But in the end it's my employer who approves the final list. So the blame for any faux pas is not entirely on my shoulders.

Autumn is such a spectacular time of year. I hope your approach and point of view is not quite so tainted and nerve wracking as mine.

Thanks for stopping in this evening.

Andrew