Money – an item to ponder

Perhaps one of the most talked-about commodities on this earth, and the least really understood, other than most of us would like to have more of it, is money. We do seem to complain that our fiscal means of exchange are insufficient, but as we move from our 60s to our 70s to our 80s, money per se becomes quite sufficient. So, what is it about this material phenomenon that seems to cause so much confusion? We could define money in a myriad of ways, as it already has been. Primarily, it is the means by which we can obtain goods and services for ourselves. Secondarily, it is the method by which we can provide goods and services for others.

As time passes, it appears as though the need or even the desire to procure these so-called goods and services wanes. We just have enough stuff, and our living quarters are quite adequate as we become elderly. What is even more interesting is that our expenses for others in our orbit are greatly decreased. Our offspring and heirs, for the most part, have also become self-sufficient. Thus, we find ourselves with surplus funds, or such is our hope. The coupled pairs among us are often moved to use these dollars for a thing called travel.

For someone who was extremely fiscally poor as a child, the abundance of this thing called money is magical. Allow me to share some more about my days as a young Black kid being raised by a single mom in low-income, government-subsidized housing in the Borough of Brooklyn in the City of New York. Even though our income was limited or lacking substance, my mother managed somehow to have me attend parochial school, where I did quite well academically and socially. During seventh and eighth grades, I was what was called an altar boy which, among other favors, allowed me to assist at funeral masses for some prominent parishioners. The family members were often appreciative of my grace and reverence, and rewarded me with tips. The amounts were meager by today’s standards, but I was able to use that money to treat myself to a vanilla milkshake at the local soda shop and maybe even host a female guest.

Money became a very important entity in my life as a young teen. I was allotted a quarter a day to subsidize my packed lunch, with which I could purchase an orange drink and a dessert of sorts from the school cafeteria. The City of New York paid for my daily commute via subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan by means of a document called a subway pass. It was on the subway where I met Tom, my dearest friend to this day, and I also shared a lunch table for four years with Jim, still a close friend. I had no idea of their financial status, nor did I care. I did know that they lived in houses, not apartment buildings. By virtue of their abodes (and the fact that both households included fathers and an automobile), I mentally bestowed wealth upon my two Caucasian friends for no apparent reason whatsoever.

I had no idea what wealth really was at that point in my life, nor what I would do with an increase in revenue if such had occurred. A few more shirts came to mind as additional realistic acquisitions, since I only had three, which were laundered every other day. In my world of fantasy, I saw myself with a lot of stuff which was unaffordable during those years, and well beyond, for that matter. Eventually I obtained enough money to enjoy the middle-class economy of American life as I do currently as a Cape Region resident. It took quite a while, but the journey to a more adequate bank account, albeit long, was exciting, challenging and fun.

As we all reflect upon our personal journeys and the role played by money, we should also be cognizant of those human beings among us who have also been on the road, but with less-successful outcomes. Imagine living in poverty for 50 years with no exit ramp in sight for oneself or one’s children. Money for those people is a continuously important matter, both materially and conceptually. They live with severe limits on their personal goods and services, things which so many of us take for granted; goods and services which we all need. Their situation is worth pondering.