My two close friends are married to “Trust Fund babies”, they are unfamiliar with hard work, struggle, and neither pay rent or a mortgage. They inherited brownstone homes, beach houses back East, and a farm in Hawaii.
I, on the one hand, have been with a man, taken at five years old as Ward of the State, abandoned by his mother who could only afford to keep his sister. He grew without friends because at an early age, he’d learn to distrust anyone and learned an important lesson that one can rely only upon oneself. So, at fifteen, he worked a full-time job at night after school at a coffee shop.
At 27 years old, without help from anyone, he had managed to buy a home in SF, then acreage of land in Mendocino county, and a mountain home up north. And despite growing up in stability, an education, and love, I am the honored one in this 26 year relationship. His sense of survival is my shared “rock” or “island” not the materials he has achieved or accumulated because of it.
I'm a new reader. I appreciate the fact that you discuss these matters of social class and wealth disparity. I have my own complicated story (don't we all?) of being born into a family who, a century ago, had considerable wealth. The ways in which I benefit from that wealth now are quite distant. An inherited family vacation spot, now shared by well over a hundred cousins, is a meeting ground for those of us who are financially comfortable, and those like myself who are not. That connection which you write about between those two groups is often fraught territory, and a subject which has always commanded my attention. You make reference in your piece to "jumping off the island" and a seeming fall from grace. May I ask for more details about this? I'm guessing you've written about it in previous posts. Can you send a link? Thanks. Chris
My two close friends are married to “Trust Fund babies”, they are unfamiliar with hard work, struggle, and neither pay rent or a mortgage. They inherited brownstone homes, beach houses back East, and a farm in Hawaii.
I, on the one hand, have been with a man, taken at five years old as Ward of the State, abandoned by his mother who could only afford to keep his sister. He grew without friends because at an early age, he’d learn to distrust anyone and learned an important lesson that one can rely only upon oneself. So, at fifteen, he worked a full-time job at night after school at a coffee shop.
At 27 years old, without help from anyone, he had managed to buy a home in SF, then acreage of land in Mendocino county, and a mountain home up north. And despite growing up in stability, an education, and love, I am the honored one in this 26 year relationship. His sense of survival is my shared “rock” or “island” not the materials he has achieved or accumulated because of it.
I LOVE that story. That capacity to survive is an extraordinarily valuable one. Bless you both.
I'm a new reader. I appreciate the fact that you discuss these matters of social class and wealth disparity. I have my own complicated story (don't we all?) of being born into a family who, a century ago, had considerable wealth. The ways in which I benefit from that wealth now are quite distant. An inherited family vacation spot, now shared by well over a hundred cousins, is a meeting ground for those of us who are financially comfortable, and those like myself who are not. That connection which you write about between those two groups is often fraught territory, and a subject which has always commanded my attention. You make reference in your piece to "jumping off the island" and a seeming fall from grace. May I ask for more details about this? I'm guessing you've written about it in previous posts. Can you send a link? Thanks. Chris
There's a lot. The short answer is, "Google me" -- and read my Wikipedia for a brief summary.
Here's one: https://hugoschwyzer.substack.com/p/you-have-to-try-to-be-good?utm_source=publication-search
And: https://hugoschwyzer.substack.com/p/the-bewildered-mentee-the-collateral?utm_source=publication-search
And: https://hugoschwyzer.substack.com/p/sex-lies-and-britney-spears-on-illusions?utm_source=publication-search