What would you do differently if you had a chance?

[asmaahsan]

Been rich. And make sure I show up the day they ask me which I'd prefer.

I knew a lot of rich families. I could have married a rich guy. But I chose a guy from a very good family, my family tree, with no money. Today after planning and looking after each other, we are pretty comfortable. Money cant buy you happiness. Wish for peace of mind and happiness, not money. You can create business and make money, you cant make happiness or make a decent loving person fall for you. You cant buy love either, or health, so basically, having money makes you suspicious, alone, misunderstood, sought out for all the wrong reasons, and eventually, mis used by many as you are their meal ticket. if you are rich, you will never be sure who your real friends are...

I never wanted to be rich...

[clintessential]

Quantity has never really held sway in my life. There are times though when it's necessary. Paying my water bill,
lying about my age and weight, or exaggerating the dimensions of my wife's favorite appendage. I haven't actively
campaigned against it or extolled it's virtues. The quote you referenced was another failed attempt by me to cultivate
a sense of humor. It's from a genre that comedians like Henny Youngman embraced:
Me: I'm gonna need next week off.
Boss: Oh yeah, why?
Me: Remember my aunt in Cleveland who died last year?
Boss: Yeah?
Me: She died again.
I'm neither rich nor poor, nor aspired to be either one. I am what I am, and since I can't change it, I guess I'm
stuck with "SEXY" the rest of my life. I know I'm not the sexiest man alive, but I'm way too sexy for Fran.

[asmaahsan]

Good for You!

I understood you were joking but one time this crappy guy I liked as a friend told me I was after his money so you hit a sore spot. That guy was a loser. I put the comment here so all can understand i am not after their lovely money.

Stay sexy, being rich stinks anyways.

being way too 'sexy' is better than being way too rich anyday.

I think they even made a song about you..... I'm too sexy for.....something like that. maybe we ask Fran.

[clintessential]

Hey asma!(I hope you don't mind if I call you that. asmaahsan takes too many muscles) I think we're on the same
page, but I would substitute "greed" for "rich." There's a big difference between the two and
that disparity seems to grow wider with each scandal that's made public. In your post you
allude to the behavior of a rich suitor which you found distasteful. I drove a cab in Las Vegas
for 22 years and came to despise the "rich." They have a disdain for "the teeming masses"
that's inbred. They even have "rules" that dictate proper procedures when, God forbid,
they find themselves alone with one of the "vermin" who will, unfortunately, "always be
with us." The lowpoint of the ride(for the poor little rich kid in the back seat) was always
the pregnant pause preceding "richies" request for a receipt. He was doing the math to
come up with the tip that he thought would get him a receipt. Usually they just gave up
on the math and offered their last best tip: the change plus a dollar. Since the IRS assumed
that the average tip was 23% of the meter, anything less than that never got a receipt. What
was the low point for him, was, potentially, the high point for me. I got to watch him deliver
a well rehearsed diatribe laced with "you cabdrivers", "you know I've got your number,"
'"you don't know who you're effing with" But I always got the last word. I knew that the union
contract said that we werenot obligated to load or unload the luggage. And I told him so. If he made no effort to remove the luggage, I informed him that he could claim his luggage at
Checker Cab Co.(never gave an address), closed the trunk, and drove off. You'd be surprised
how many of them came to their senses and gave me a tip well in excessof 23%. I knew he'd
see the light. To anyone who read this far: God Bless You.

[asmaahsan]

That's insightful.

Asma is my first name, my real name, so you can call me by it. It's ok.

I see your point and the thing about greed and misbehaving with the "vermin". I always say that being rich doesn't guarantee you good manners.

The guy I talked about was not a suitor. He was someone I was trying to work for but since he was very rich, and I told him my husband and I were from humble background, he thought I was trying to trap him into marriage. Kind of funny considering I had two kids at the time and a functional husband who paid the bills. I think his kind of rich means you don't respect anyone with less money than him.

I have had the privilege of knowing one rich family, my husband worked for them also, who are so humble and so cool that it's amazing. I met the head of the family myself and was very impressed by his decent public dealings. They have ten times more money than anyone I have ever met, but they are so polite and so down to earth that I would have gladly worked for them myself, had I the skill sets they required at their end in any employment candidate. I just sit and wish them well and tell others to follow their lead.

You had a bad experience with one rich brat with no manners. Everyone is not the same.

Now one question I always want to ask the cab drivers. How do you guys keep the cars clean with so many passengers coming and going all day? Most cabs I ride in are always worn out and look dirty from the inside. I wonder why.

[clintessential]

@asma
What would I do differently if I had the chance? Sat down and shut up more often. I also would not have submitted
my last post. It was anecdotal and served no purpose. Everything I wrote was true and had happened before. A lot.
But after the first year of driving I had arrived at a business model that provided me with a comfortable amount of
"side"(the cash in excess of what's on the meter. It can be the result of tips, kickbacks from businesses, dishonesty,
or in my case, the inordinate amount of sex appeal possessed by the cab driver) It also didn't hurt that I applied
a creative form of accounting to the numbers incurred on my shift. What the paradigm did, besides provide kindness
in an unkind world, was circumvent the need for the annoying "tip/receipt" ritual. After the first year, I rarely participated in it, except when I felt mean. Besides, most of the time I was too busy being sexy, a responsibility I
don't take lightly.
To answer your question about unkempt cabs. I don't know about other cities, but in Las Vegas the drivers don't own
their own cabs. They are owned by companies. My company provided plenty of resources to maintain the cab. They
had a warehouse full of new tires, batteries, reconditioned seats, anything the cab would need. Generally speaking,
if you see a disheveled cab in Las Vegas, it's because the driver was too lazy to take the cab to maintenance. You
could have them replace a seat anytime you felt it was necessary. If you needed repairs to the exterior of the cab,
you just took it to the body shop. I had given thought to working in the body shop, but changed my mind when I
realized it would be redundant. Cheerio. You know, my intuition tells me that you're sexy too. Ain't it grand? Maasalamma, Ilahu Akbar, baakssheesh, and gahwah. One of those means goodbye. I just can't remember which one.
wahed, ithneen, thalatha, khumsa............?

[asmaahsan]

Clintessential, I was sexy when my husband found me at age 18. That's why he decided to marry me. For my good looks. he was in love with the number one indian film actress at the time and i looked a lot like her, so he was too happy to marry me. Lol.

Now after three kids, I try to look respectably in shape as I eat too much and am at the moment 20 kg more than I was at the day I got engaged, age, 18. I have other priorities now and I have never taken my looks seriously. I am more into developing my brain.

About you being able to speak your mind, well, my dad is the most blunt person on the planet, and so am I, so I see no harm in it. You didn't say anything rude here so Far so It's cool.

In urdu, my language, we say "Allah Haafiz", which means goodbye, but when we end a conversation in writing, we don't say anything. I don't speak Arabic except the Quran which is translated for my understanding in my language. so stick to "hi" and "see you later" and it's perfectly cool with me as I always spoke more english at home than Urdu. I had a well rounded international grooming so don't worry about me going all eastern on you. I reserve that only when I pick fights with my poor long suffering husband.

I am happy to know cabs are clean in Las Vegas. My husband loves the states and he has been there. He was studying there for two years doing his masters in business management. I haven't been there yet, but one day I plan to visit it, provided I get a visit visa.

You sound like a very creative person. I noticed that when you gave good ideas on the story I was trying to cook with Bighuey. So keep posting your ideas. Its nice to meet you.

[clintessential]

@asma The pleasure is all mine. Sorry I'm late posting. The woman next door needs a new water heater. But instead
she keeps patching the leaks in the old one. When she does that it leaks somewhere else After I did the 4th patch,
I said no more. Buy a new one and I'll install it. THE END
I read all the places you've been--impressive. Gives one a better perspective. I used to travel, but no more. It's
too much work. A girlfriend and I spent 6 months exploring the Moghreb. We especially liked Morocco. The Berbers
are incredible craftsmen. Some of the buildings, like those in Meknes, have been standing for 1500-2000 years.
In Algeria, we were picked up hitch hiking by a Canadian engineer who worked for the Algeria government,. restoring
the water systems the Romans had built. There still in use. We stayed with him for two weeks--it was an education.
Again, it's good to meet you. You're interested in everything! The mind is a big place, and worth having. Cheerio.

[asmaahsan]

Thanks. I would like to visit Morocco too actually. My retirement plan, if I live long enough to go through with it, includes a world tour. I like to travel.

[srittyx3]

Date only the love of my life; I was so stupid in high school.

[suzy1124]

Absolutely nothing..............it is what it is.............

[Ella]

Planned better.

[suzy1124]

same reply " nothing ", but w/the addition of : every mistake was a " learning experience "

[LoveMusic_AK]

When I met the love of my life, I would have said that he meant everything to me. I would have insisted that he gave me a hug. Seriously, that hug would have made my life! You have no idea! <3