He Who Dies With the Most Toys Wins
As they got out of the Ferrari and headed into their new home, Nick’s attention turned to its lavish amenities: the infinity pool, the tennis court, and the helicopter pad. His mom didn’t own a helicopter, yet. But she might need one in the future, just to get around. Nick knew that some would consider each a vulgar display of wealth, given the space they required on one of the priciest chunks of land in the county overlooking the bay. And those considerations made him uncomfortable.
The mansion was fully automated electronically with all sorts of other bells and whistles. It had two three-car garages, which was far more than she needed to house her only car, the red Ferrari. She parked the Ferrari in the space closest to the door to the kitchen on one side of the home. Nick’s Mustang was parked two spaces away in the same garage.
As he and his mom strode past the laundry room, Nick spotted a picture on the wall of a red Ferrari, along with a caption, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” He snickered as he followed his mom down the hallway.
His little dog Chipper ran up, greeting him with her tail wagging wildly from side to side. Chipper was a grey-colored schnauzer-mix that they’d rescued from an animal shelter a couple of years before. He loved Chipper.
“Chipper, you’re such a perfect dog,” he said as he knelt to pet her. “Are you lonely in this big house?” She barked and licked him.
His mom walked into the kitchen and after a few more pets and pats, Nick got up and followed her.
“So when will your grades be posted?” She asked as she opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.
“Monday. This semester worked out much better than the last. That’s for sure. I think you’ll like what you see.”
“That’s excellent. Nick, I’m so proud of you. I’ve already started planning the party for your graduation in December. It’ll be big; promise that. I’ll invite the governor and some big names in town too. It’s important that we recognize our accomplishments and achievements, and earning your dual major degree from State is certainly noteworthy.”
He followed his mom into the family room and sat down on one of the two couches. She sat down on the opposite couch and picked up the newspaper. The family room overlooked the pool and offered an expansive view of the bay, which Nick admired when he entered the room. It was breathtaking by anyone’s standards.
A few minutes later, he headed back into the kitchen for a drink, which he grabbed from the inside door of a massive stainless steel refrigerator. Subzero refrigerator: the standard in mansions. He popped the top from the soda bottle and took a hearty swig. Refreshing.
“I’m going to send out more job applications today, Mom.”
“Good,” she said. “You know you can always take a Fox ‘n Fields’ internship this summer.”
“Yeah, I know that. Thanks Mom, but I want to make it on my own. I don’t want to be known as the kid who rides his mom’s coattails.”
“Don’t let your pride get in the way of an opportunity, Nick. Fox ‘n Fields has much to offer you and there’s nothing wrong with capitalizing on your connections. Everyone does it. But of course you’d be held to higher standards than those without connections if you did.”
“That wouldn’t bother me, but I’m going to try something else first.” He sat back down on the couch and again peered out the window.
After a few minutes, he asked, “Mom, do you really need all of this? I mean it’s only you and Chipper now. I’m only here during the breaks and I’ll be moving out after I graduate. This house is gi-normous! How are you going to keep it clean? So many rooms.”
“Yes, Nick. I can assure you that I need this house.” She put the newspaper she was reading down by her side. “I’ve hired a maid who comes twice weekly and keeps it nice and clean. CEOs don’t live in middle-class neighborhoods in rural areas; they live in homes more fitting.”
“Fitting?”
“Yes, Nick, fitting. I’m in the upper echelon now, rubbing elbows with the board and other highbrows. I need to walk the walk and talk the talk, and I need to be able to entertain them properly in my home. If we were still in the other house, they’d have to drive forty minutes to visit through cow pastures and orange groves just to visit. And that house hardly had the amenities people expect.”
“I don’t want you to think that I don’t like the house,” Nick continued, “I do. But it just seems so opulent, you know.”
“You’ll grow into it, Nick. Opulence is good. I’ve earned opulence.”
Nick felt her impatience with him. He also observed the designer labels on her slightly casual weekend outfit, which further reflected her desire to dress the part she felt was required of her in her new role.
“Mom, did I ever tell you how I found Jesus?”
“No. Do share.”
Nick sensed a bit of sarcasm in her response.
“Well, I was down and out in December, right after Tyrone was killed in the football game. It was horrible. I was drinking too much. Couldn’t focus. Couldn’t think about my final exams.” He paused and shook his head.
“Certainly impacted your grades. What happened to Tyrone was horrible, Nick, and I figured you were drinking to drown your sorrows. Your father was a big drinker, you know. Drank when he was happy and drank when he was sad. Just loved to drink.”
“Yeah, I know. How could I forget that? I don’t ever want to follow his footsteps though; he was such a mean alcoholic. I’m not mean when I drink, Mom, and fighting is the last thing on my mind.” Nick looked at his mom who was nodding and listening intently.
He continued, “I hate to admit this but I think drinking is kind of fun, and it helps me to forget about things like Tyrone’s death. Tyrone was awesome. He didn’t know his dad and barely ever saw his mom since she was always working, but that didn’t stop him or get him down. He was an excellent athlete. He had everything and would have gone pro.”
“Nick, I’m very sad about Tyrone and I feel badly for his family too. I’m sure that they were counting on his success. We’ll send them some money. He was a good leader to all of you and an excellent quarterback. It’s a real tragedy. But despite that, Nick, I want to be sure that you don’t lean on alcohol to drown your sorrows.”
“Tyrone’s family will appreciate money, Mom, as I’m sure they could use the help. As for me, things were much better in the spring. I found another way to deal with Tyrone’s death: God. And Tanner helped me. He proved Jesus is the Son of God. He read me a passage from the Old Testament, Isaiah 53. Mom, Isaiah 53 predicts Jesus’ crucifixion. The thing that got me was that the book of Isaiah was written about seven hundred years before Jesus’ birth. In the Old Testament. Isaiah was a Jewish prophet and is still considered a prophet to Jews.”
“Interesting,” his mom said, “I didn’t know that Tanner was a Bible thumper.”
“His family is very religious.”
“Oh.”
“He helped me to become a believer. I’ve been going with Tanner to church at State ever since. We’ve been there just about every Sunday. Do you believe in Jesus, Mom?”
An uncomfortable silence followed. Nick took a deep breath as he waited for her response. “Well, Nick, I was raised to believe in Jesus.”
“Well then, why don’t we go to church? And why didn’t you raise me to believe in Jesus?” Nick asked feeling a bit of sadness, along with a hint of anger.
“I don’t need to go to church,” she said, “God appreciates hard work and goodness. And I’ve always been good to you and my subordinates at work. And I’ve taught you about the Protestant work ethic, which is all about God. God helps those who help themselves. He appreciates independence.”
“I’m sure he likes that Mom, but I don’t think God appreciates opulence,” Nick challenged, “He wants you to use your money to help others in need.”
Nick loved and respected his mom, but something about this new lifestyle made him uneasy. He was happy that she’d offered to help Tyrone’s family out. God would appreciate that, if she actually did what she said she’d do. Sometimes she said things just to appease him and sometimes she forgot to make good on promises.
“Oh please. Nick, do you really think God wants me to give everything I’ve earned away? I’ve worked hard. Very hard. If everyone who worked as hard as I did gave it all away, they’d never be motivated to work hard again. The world would fall apart. We’d have no entrepreneurs and no workers and might as well be communists where everyone benefits despite their contributions. God wants us to prosper and work hard, Nick, and I’ll betcha he’s a bigger fan of capitalism than communism; he gets human nature.”
Nick said softly, “I’m sure he wants everyone to be prosperous, but…” He felt a little queasy. Something didn’t seem right. He knew how his friends on the football team lived; most weren’t superstars and most would leave the glory. Many were part of families that were struggling to make ends meet. Many needed the football scholarships they were awarded. Nick didn’t need his football scholarship, but he was happy they’d given him one.
Nick was the back-up quarterback to Tyrone. He remembered how Tyrone had told him that his mom worked two jobs, but still had trouble paying the bills. She had probably counted on him to be the lifesaver, lifting the family out of poverty. Instead he was killed in a freak accident in the last quarter of a football game.
He thought of his other teammates. Most wouldn’t make it to the riches of the NFL, freeing themselves from financial worries. These thoughts saddened Nick, who walked over to the patio door and looked out onto the bay. He’d never given much thought to poverty before.
It was one thing when he was in the middle-class neighborhood where everyone’s homes and cars and income seemed about the same. Some had nicer cars than others, or a slightly larger house, or maybe even a pool, but all in all, the differences were minimal.
He was now living in a lavish home with a Ferrari and a helicopter pad. Pulled from his comfort zone of relative equality to his friends in his former middle class neighborhood to the extravagance he now knew. Extravagance made him focus more on those at the other extreme.
After taking a deep breath, he changed the subject. “Love the view here Mom,” he said as he walked to the patio door and stepped outside, “nice weather today too. Look, not a cloud in the sky.”
“Yeah, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?” She followed him into the patio. “Why don’t you invite Tanner and the boys over next weekend? I’d love to see them again. I know you want to spend your time finding a job, but celebrating your accomplishments is important too. Celebrate the semester. I don’t mind if you have a couple of drinks, but if anyone drinks, I don’t want them to drive. No one should drive after drinking. If they want to stay overnight, we certainly have the rooms.”
“Okay. You’re right. I’m still going to work on getting a job this week, but I’ll open up the weekend for entertaining. Thanks Mom.”