See Ya!

Growing up financially poor and struggling, as so many are, I gleaned a few insights and humors of my experiences, and the following is an expression of such insight. It isn't written because I'm angry...because, I can't write when I'm angry. It is written out of acknowledgement of the way things are...for millions. Oh, the bureaucracy, out of political(lying)considerations, play with those numbers to make the masses believe, the poor are moronic non-starters who are just genetically lazy, and there's only a few of us...anyway. But, just remember...the worm turns.

I love to see people reveal who they are not, and in doing so, reveal who they truly are. Example...the wife of a trendy therapy clinic owner in a chique mountain town in the northwest, appeared at the local Walmart we used to frequent. When she saw me, she did this 'deer in the headlights' thing, like she wanted to erase time and space...go back to before I saw her, and just reboot the whole scene, or hide from the scene, altogether. I was in health care at that time and had a client who used her husbands services.

It is like witnessing a member of your church, declaring his or herself to be a 'vegan'. Half an hour later, after services, you have a roaring appetite up, you stop in at Kentucky Fried, and low and behold, there's the 'vegan' and his or her whole brood belly up to the bar, swilling down greasy bird by the hand fulls. Oh sure...it's flat out hypocracy, but it's also funny stuff, worthy of a line or two of, none to subtle, satire.

Why do people  do this stuff? Well, for a lot of reasons. Mostly, maybe, because they want to appear to be better than, higher than or more superiorly positioned than the next fellow in rank. It's like, a poor person goes and begs food stamps, kills another day in a dead life of begging, to feed themselves and their family. But, a middle class family; now, when they go belly up, and end up living in the BMW, it's a much more complex affair, because 'appearances' are everything...especially to those who were earlier, and very vocally, putting down 'the poor' for begging.

You see, it can happen to any body, in an instant. Fortunes change...sometimes overnight. It's not funny that this happens to people, but it's funny to watch people who have no predictive power, but a boatload of money, take advantage of 'sales', 'slum it' at the superstores of the disadvantaged and then, look so spooked when they've been recognized behind a Mr. Potato Head disguise, for who they truly are...disgustingly well off 'middle class'. That's what they call rich people now, I guess, for tax reasons.

See...we don't like the cheap stuff; it's just all we can get. It's all in poor taste, but the manager's of 'disadvantaged fashion' apparently feel this is all we deserve, so they stock in crap...invariably crap. On the other hand, the well off who pretend to follow fashion, actually have little to no taste, but they 'hang' at fashion malls and such where only the money'd can afford to shop. In truth, these 'fashionista's' would rather buy a cheap piece of crap from a box store, and save the difference to buy a non essential fur coat, or a trip to the Riviera...second such that year. Heaven forbid, they should be seen.

That's why, when I see them, they KNOW they've been seen by the Dick of gypsy's, the paperatza of necessity, who couldn't afford taste even though he has taste...and so, tasteful meets tasteless, and who's who, and who cares, and I can tell you...it's a laugh riot, from my point of view at the shit end of the stick. See, we go along, and we do the things we must do to survive. In pretty damn quick order, a survivor overcomes embarrassment and shame, and rebuilds him or herself...at a new level, with a sort of 'loser's pride', which is a rebirth in a way.

It doesn't matter if the 'winner's circle' turns out to be in a shit hole. It's attitude that makes you a winner. It's not fashion, and it's, sure as hell, not a hot car built by a German. It can be just a guy who had the nuts to crawl in and out of a dumpster, to get a meal to survive. And there was that hippie over there giving me the 'thumbs up'. I've been there, and i've had to do that, and it was hard, but I survived, and I'm more for it, not less. Now I have stories, badges, arguable honors.

Yeah! I didn't finish High School, and I didn't finish college, because the system isn't set up to give a break to every Tom and Harry, Dick. But I did accomplish...I did raise a family...I did get a lot of experience. While the jokers of the middle class yuck it up  at their watering holes, and compliment themselves on their brilliance, look for me at the box stores, or driving a Chevy that's about 20 years old. See ya!


Written by Bruce James Clyde 2015

Photo: credit unknown