I Shouldn't Be Writing

(Originally 12/25/06, Christmas Day)

Merry Christmass All! The title is a nod to Mur Lafferty, a friend of Evo's who stopped by a few days ago, and a friend of alex's too (they were NaNoWriMo buddies).

I say I shouldn't be writing because it's Christmas and I'm in the city and I should be out enjoying the town.

Well, I have, and I may do so again, but I have nothing specific to do out there. The view from the room is exceptional this time, I must say. I'm on the 37th floor, overlooking the Ziegfeld Theater. Check the link, note the address. I'm in the Hilton on the block south of the theater. In-Room Dining menu tells me that I can get a Turkey Club sandwich for 21.95--I kid you not. I'll pass. I'm not in the mood to fund Paris' new sex tape. Not to mention what kind of tip I would supposed to leave? That would have to be some serious post-coital bliss to prevent me from going downstairs and getting the same sandwich to-go for 8 bucks.

My Blind Hero sent me an e-mail Christmas card but he hasn't called me to hook up with him. I guess he changed his mind, or found another offer. I don't feel particularly saddened by that. I'm happy that I said yes and was open to him coming. That, for me, is progress.

So, yeah, I'm a little lonely, but not overmuch. My Friend The Doctor called earlier when I was downtown eating Coldstone Ice Cream in the Village. He forgot to call me earlier in the week to check up on me, but that was okay too. I owe him a lot already and he's always there when I need him, so he needn't feel bad. If I hadn't any plans, he'd have been sped-dialed.

So, a few blocks north of here is an apartment building and I can see them in their homes. At most I can see about five families at any given time. i swear I wish i had a set of binoculars so I could see details. But more than that, I wish I knew who they were and how they're living in that building. This is between 6th & 7th avenues, 55th st, I estimate. and since I'm on the 37th floor, they have to be living between 35-45th floors of that deluxe highrise. From my time as a real estate agent (its crazy to type that, but I still hold a NY license for real estate. Go figure) I would expect these people to be paying anywhere between $3500-$5000/month rent. And if they own, the units would have gone for millions, easy. And then the monthly "maintenance" would still be a few thou per month.

But may I tell you, my window is crowded with buildings as tall if not taller, than us. And while this Hilton is a narrow little slip of a structure (wasted space really), these residentials are packed out in every nook and cranny with living space. (The more people Mr. Developer can cram into his building, the more money he gets.) So not for the first time I have to ask;

WHO ARE ALL THESE RICH PEOPLE?!!?

I feel like I can never hope to make that kind of money without becoming an actor, singer, or career bestseller author. There aren't that many of them, and if there were, they don't all live here!

So what is going on?

You know that Saturday Night Live skit about what white people do when no one else is around? I swear it must be true. In the banks, when no blacks or Latinos are around. they just be givin' each other money. Don't deny it, white people! You know it's true! On a more serious note, if not less consequential, I saw a commercial on this Hilton Hotel Satellite TV system (flatscreen TVs give off a lot of heat from their screens, BTW!) they keep showing financial planner commercials and all sorts of high-financed based advertizing. They must think every guest is interested in making and keeping a lot of money. And one of these commericals had a bunch of people in different vignettes. One of them was this middle-aged white guy in a suit with a big voice putting his arm around the neck of a younger white man and saying "I want to leave my business to my son!" and I was like "Ah, HAAA!!!! THAT'S how you guys have been doing it for centuries!! Hoard that wealth!!" How many of the Hilton neighbors (Paris being a prime example) are just beneficiaries of their parents and great-grandparents' wealth? Living off trust funds and the bank account interest that pays their monthly housing expenses?

Well, I currently am doing the exact same thing. I'm reaping the benefit of a two-night stay in a posh midtown hotel, overlooking Manhattan, a sliver of the Hudson River to my left and a sliver of a de-leafed Central Park straight ahead, because of My Benefactor's parent's wealth. We none of us deserve it, but I hope the neighbors are at least as half as grateful right now as I am. This is a really nice opportunity and I'm not going to let jealousy and spite take it away from me.

Happy Holidays to the rich people as well as the poor! "God bless us all, every one!"