***My Ghetto Roots and Why I Like It That Way

My Ghetto Roots and Why I Like It That Way

Oh, you poor thing, you grew up in that terrible ghetto.

Wrong! We ghettoites have a secret advantage, the same advantage the weeds have over the cultivated posies, the same advantage wild animals have over ones of the same species who were gently reared and turned loose in the jungle, the same advantage wild food crops have over improved seed crops, over hybrid seed crops, over genetically mutilated seed crops.

It's called survival. Survival is not such a bad thing, when it comes right down to it. Some of my best friends are survivors.

In Palm Beach, there is something the trust bankers snidely call 'the third generation wealth effect.' It is one of trust bankers' finest secrets. The first generation created the wealth; they dealt with reality hands-on, directly. The second generation is educated, pampered, and sent to medical school or finishing school. Their way is paved, but they do have the parents' work ethic, usually. And they can write their own checks. Their children, the third generation of wealth, expect their way to be as paved as their parents' is – and by someone else too. And, by golly, it is! They tend to work on their drinking habit.

Bankers tell me of third-generation wealth scions who call the bank for everything. "I want a car" is all they say. The banker asks questions to determine exactly what that means. The banker buys the car, titles it, gets tags, makes sure there is a driver's license: the whole story. The banker parks the car in the forty-year-old kid's driveway, hands the keys over, and adds his massive surcharge to the entire transaction. And everybody is happy.

Whenever I read or hear someone say 'Everybody is basically a good person' I feel uneasy. It is better to learn that lesson when all you have to lose is your hair.

I have a feeling the first-generation wealth grew up in the ghetto. How about you?