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sabrinamariYou know, I've always thought that my mom and dad gave me little or no cultural capital around money, but I was wrong. I got two important things from them: a model of how to save, along with a positive way to think about saving ("cheap is smart"), and many, many stories of the Western Kansas millionaires who were part of my dad's isolated farming and ranching community.
As he tells it, they were regular guys who treated their community very, very well, maintained a humble image, didn't get caught up in any kind of glamorous "lifestyle" and drove really, really old trucks.
One of them always wore worn overalls and rode around town in a slowly collapsing truck because he loved it, and driving it made him happy.
Another saddled up his whole family right after a terrible snowstorm (people froze to death regularly in Western Kansas) and they all rode out to the local highway, pulling stranded people out of their cars and bringing them all back to his home so they did not freeze to death.
They were trapped with him for days until the snow melted, so he organized a giant canasta tournament.
Another guy sent his family and a group of trusted employees out on horseback during another big winter storm to meet the stranded bread trucks and ferry back food for the community.
So I guess I absorbed the message that wealthy people are wise community servants. I learned that they have alot of common sense, they use their money and resources to take care of their families and their community responsibilities and they don't give a crap about looking slick or rich.
It's a pretty good model. I'm grateful for it.
As he tells it, they were regular guys who treated their community very, very well, maintained a humble image, didn't get caught up in any kind of glamorous "lifestyle" and drove really, really old trucks.
One of them always wore worn overalls and rode around town in a slowly collapsing truck because he loved it, and driving it made him happy.
Another saddled up his whole family right after a terrible snowstorm (people froze to death regularly in Western Kansas) and they all rode out to the local highway, pulling stranded people out of their cars and bringing them all back to his home so they did not freeze to death.
They were trapped with him for days until the snow melted, so he organized a giant canasta tournament.
Another guy sent his family and a group of trusted employees out on horseback during another big winter storm to meet the stranded bread trucks and ferry back food for the community.
So I guess I absorbed the message that wealthy people are wise community servants. I learned that they have alot of common sense, they use their money and resources to take care of their families and their community responsibilities and they don't give a crap about looking slick or rich.
It's a pretty good model. I'm grateful for it.
