Better Cars

Our family name is something we have when we are born. Nobody has a choice in this matter. For example, I was born into a working class/railroad family. Money was always tight, but my parents always supported the lot of us in the best ways they could. Because of them, my childhood in the 1970's was particularly awesome! Our family name carried no particular weight in our community. But there were many kids my age who were born into families with recognizable last names. Obviously, these names were associated with money and if you come from money, there are certain social powers that are bestowed upon you. Growing up among kids with money showed me what kind of lives they had compared to mine. These kids always: got the girl, had the car, had the cash, had the schooling, had the job waiting for them when they finished school, started out higher than most in their field, and always managed to get away with practically anything they wanted. I listened to the ways they talked down to other kids. I saw the effect those words had on those kids. I watched and befriended truly horrible people that, when talked to as fellow human beings, were just as confused and messed up as the rest of us... they just had better cars. I knew early on in life that having money was not the way to happiness in and of itself. It would never replace the human beings ability to be a complete mess of bottled up confusion and pain. But what a name does for somebody is keep certain doors open and opportunities available to them. In the end, we are not names and we are not money. In the end, we are mortal and the only thing a better name is going to get us is a better, more attractive gravestone.