Classy Rich People I Knew

To start this all off I need to illustrate what I base my observations on. My intellectual foundation for what constituted "Class" in those few folks I'd met in my life that I now use to measure the decline in that social stratus now.



The First person I only knew as Mrs. Firestone. Mrs. Firestone was married into the Firestone Tire family and I knew her from All Saint's Church in Carmel. Mrs. Firestone was cool. She drove a Volkswagen Beetle (yes, it had Forestone tires) and was a fixture in the kitchen during the many pot-luck diners. She was kind and outgoing and I never saw her make anyone feel like less of a person because they didn't have as much money as she. She quietly helped out those in the church who were in need but never wore that on her sleeve.



The next man was an interesting guy named Johny Urnstead, I apologize if I've misspelled his name. Johny was a flaming homosexual who was a trust-fund baby rich from Texas oil. Johny was friends with one of my sycophant bosses and would come into the restaurant that I worked in. Johny was insanely wealthy. He always made a point to remember every one's name and always asked me how my mother was. Johny was flamboyant and enjoyed life. He also never rubbed his wealth in your face and never made people feel as if they were lessor than he because they didn't have millions in the bank.

Clint Eastwood is someone who's been part of the Carmel landscape since the 1960s. I've met and talked to him a number of times as it's impossible not to bump into him around town over the span of a single year. Clint is a good neighbor. He stands in line at the market (when he could have his goodies delivered), if there is nobody at his office he will go up to the post office and stand in line there and while he's in line he makes a point to say hello to people he recognizes. He refuses the star treatment while in town. Clint donates tons of money to the Carmel Youth Center and when Arnold Schwarzenegger was clearing out his year-old gym equipment Clint got him to donate it all to the Youth Center. The coolest thing Clint has done was buy an artichoke field on the south side of the mouth of Carmel river to use as a flood plain should the river overflow. The Mission Fields area on the other side of the river had flooded in 1996 and while the county wanted to buy the fields as a flood plain they didn't have the money. So Clint stepped in an (with his ex-wife, Maggie) saved the day. Yes, Clint got a substantial tax break from the county but it paid for itself within three years when the river threatened to flood again.


There are more but these folks stand out.

Let me make this clear, none of those people ever invited me over to their homes for parties and they never wanted to be my friend. I'm also sure that not everyone has had positive experiences with these people either. That's not the point. These three embody the way things used to be in the land of the wealthy, they never pushed people around unless warranted and they were always polite. They invested in the community both because it benefited them and because it was the right thing to do. Yes, they all belonged to exclusive, member's only clubs where I could never go but that's acceptable to me because I have nothing in common with them nor their friends. They never rubbed their wealth in the faces of the community, almost never dressed flashy unless the situation demanded it.

They all three said "Please", "Excuse Me" and "Thank You". Something that you rarely hear today in the current habitat of the wealthy white person.


Next entry: Borders Bookstore - Oasis of the Wealthy and Upper-Middle Class.