...My granddad was a rugged man who cut pulpwood for a living using an old crosscut saw and hauled it out of the woods behind a mule. He blamed the rich for all sorts of bad things - especially the depression. He also made some very bad deals that cost him a lot and, of course, the rich were to blame as far as he was concerned.

My dad grew up thinking that no matter what he did he would always be poor. He passed a lot of that to his kids. He said stuff like "Son, you may as well forget college. That is for rich people." There was an area of new brick homes on one end of town and he forbade us to go there because he said that those rich people did not want people like us hanging around. He also inherited my granddad's propensity for making poor deals. When he died he had several open credit accounts at up to 30% interest.

I was the only one of 7 to get a bachelor's degree though 3 of my sisters got associate's degrees. When I bought my first home with a 30 year note my dad repeatedly warned me that I would never be able to pay for it. That 1300 square foot starter home was a mansion as far as he was concerned.

I often wonder what he would think if he could see where I live today.