This blog is about perceptions I had as a child growing up. There were basically three worlds that I was aware of. I lived in one of them. My world was below the bridge, the other two above. Those other worlds, the one above the bridge, were about scholars and athletes. My world was about working for a living. The blue collar crowd as it is referred to today. The common man. That was the perception anyway and it was very real. Yes there were aberrations, those from my side of town that were intellectual and gifted athletically. They were far less likely to continue on into college. And high school athletes, especially from the tiny little town we were in, seldom get discovered by the scouts. So even those folks were more concerned with making a living than academic pursuits. Degrees don't put fish in the boat, Bub. No sir, that sheepskin looks good hanging on the wall but you can't eat it.
Now those folks above the bridge all had money. They were the shop owners, bankers, and such like. I knew they weren't all millionaires but they didn't struggle to make a living. There clothes were always neat and clean, no dirt under their fingernails. They strutted around in their suits and ties, cordial enough when you were in their stores, but not wanting to associate with you. They drove station wagons and family cars. You didn't see any pick up trucks with a winch in the bed uptown ! And another thing, those folks ate in restaurants. I don't mean getting a hard roll and a coffee at the lunch counter, no they had dinner there. They spent more on one meal then we spent in a week for groceries.
Yes it was those folks above the bridge that passed all the rules and regulations too. They had the political power because they had the money. And money means influence. Why those families up there went all the way back to the beginning, It was those same families that grabbed all the good ground and relegated us " common " folks to living below that bridge. Why anyone that knew anything about history could tell you that. You could tell yourself easy enough, just look at the names. How many of our neighbors last names were involved in any of that. Not many , not many at all. There were " upstreet " names and then all the rest.
Those upstreet folks, the ones above the bridge were primarily concerned with making money. They wanted to make much as much as possible without having to work for it. That's what we commoners were for. We cut the grass, fixed their cars and plumbing, that sort of thing. Our political opinions were of no concern to them unless it involved another way to generate revenue, for them ! That meant not interfering with the tourists. Whatever you do, don't interfere with those folks. Those folks have even more money than the upstreeters. They get to do pretty much whatever they like. As long as they keep spending their money that is. We must at all costs cater to them.
Now you may be saying to yourself what does this have to do with anything. Well, I'll try to explain. All those statements I made were perceptions, very real to me. If you were from one of the other worlds I'm certain you didn't see it that way. And that is what has just happened here in America with this last election. The commoners have finally spoken up. Yes, the uneducated workers from the other side of the tracks have spoken. The up upstreeters don't want to hear it. This could upset the tourists ! And when you upset the tourist revenues may suffer. We can't have that now can we. You see, for too long the upstreeters, the scholars' and athletes have been running things.
Here is another perception. It was those upstreeters that ran me and my folks out of town. We couldn't afford to live and work there anymore. We had been regulated into extinction. The upstreeters attracted so many tourists they needed our land to house them. We just had to go. Yes, many sold their property for a great profit. What choice did they have ? When you can't earn enough to pay the taxes, you don't have a choice do you. Of course if you are an upstreeters that doesn't bother you, revenue will increase with these folks that have money to spend. I'll replace the lunch counter with a Starbucks ! No problem.
And so I think this is what has happened here. The American people, the commoners if you will, are tired of moving. The majority have grown weary of the regulation and control of the political elite, the " upstreeters " in Washington. The commoners are fighting back. That is why you hear the cries for " common sense " The bottom line is, and always will be, in the end money will win out. How will the upstreeters buy out the commoners ? That is what we need to watch carefully. No doubt it will happen. Things will return to the status quo. Will it be affordable health insurance ? Or will it be an increased minimum wage ? Perhaps some cuts in expenditures. A compromise will be reached, and reached in favor of the upstreeters. Always has been. Life above the bridge goes on, unchanged.
Now those folks above the bridge all had money. They were the shop owners, bankers, and such like. I knew they weren't all millionaires but they didn't struggle to make a living. There clothes were always neat and clean, no dirt under their fingernails. They strutted around in their suits and ties, cordial enough when you were in their stores, but not wanting to associate with you. They drove station wagons and family cars. You didn't see any pick up trucks with a winch in the bed uptown ! And another thing, those folks ate in restaurants. I don't mean getting a hard roll and a coffee at the lunch counter, no they had dinner there. They spent more on one meal then we spent in a week for groceries.
Yes it was those folks above the bridge that passed all the rules and regulations too. They had the political power because they had the money. And money means influence. Why those families up there went all the way back to the beginning, It was those same families that grabbed all the good ground and relegated us " common " folks to living below that bridge. Why anyone that knew anything about history could tell you that. You could tell yourself easy enough, just look at the names. How many of our neighbors last names were involved in any of that. Not many , not many at all. There were " upstreet " names and then all the rest.
Those upstreet folks, the ones above the bridge were primarily concerned with making money. They wanted to make much as much as possible without having to work for it. That's what we commoners were for. We cut the grass, fixed their cars and plumbing, that sort of thing. Our political opinions were of no concern to them unless it involved another way to generate revenue, for them ! That meant not interfering with the tourists. Whatever you do, don't interfere with those folks. Those folks have even more money than the upstreeters. They get to do pretty much whatever they like. As long as they keep spending their money that is. We must at all costs cater to them.
Now you may be saying to yourself what does this have to do with anything. Well, I'll try to explain. All those statements I made were perceptions, very real to me. If you were from one of the other worlds I'm certain you didn't see it that way. And that is what has just happened here in America with this last election. The commoners have finally spoken up. Yes, the uneducated workers from the other side of the tracks have spoken. The up upstreeters don't want to hear it. This could upset the tourists ! And when you upset the tourist revenues may suffer. We can't have that now can we. You see, for too long the upstreeters, the scholars' and athletes have been running things.
Here is another perception. It was those upstreeters that ran me and my folks out of town. We couldn't afford to live and work there anymore. We had been regulated into extinction. The upstreeters attracted so many tourists they needed our land to house them. We just had to go. Yes, many sold their property for a great profit. What choice did they have ? When you can't earn enough to pay the taxes, you don't have a choice do you. Of course if you are an upstreeters that doesn't bother you, revenue will increase with these folks that have money to spend. I'll replace the lunch counter with a Starbucks ! No problem.
And so I think this is what has happened here. The American people, the commoners if you will, are tired of moving. The majority have grown weary of the regulation and control of the political elite, the " upstreeters " in Washington. The commoners are fighting back. That is why you hear the cries for " common sense " The bottom line is, and always will be, in the end money will win out. How will the upstreeters buy out the commoners ? That is what we need to watch carefully. No doubt it will happen. Things will return to the status quo. Will it be affordable health insurance ? Or will it be an increased minimum wage ? Perhaps some cuts in expenditures. A compromise will be reached, and reached in favor of the upstreeters. Always has been. Life above the bridge goes on, unchanged.
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