4 Comments

That couple definitely doesn't live in Southern Illinois ! But a lot of us down here are pretty happy with what we have and our lifestyle. Just laugh off comparisons-too many variables involved.

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Living in an expensive area that is becoming more so by the minute, I see this a lot. The houses, cars, and various accountrement of having it all does make one compare. Then I remember many of the cars are leased, credit card bills are high, and the mortgages tie folks to jobs and places that make them miserable, as witnessed by the anger and one upmanship everywhere from roadways to schools to stores. We are fortunate to be able to remain centered in all of this. It takes some work at times. It’s a distance from throwing everthing I owned in the trunk a little Corolla and taking off with a few dollars in my pocket. That was freedom.

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Oct 7, 2022·edited Oct 7, 2022

Maybe it was how I was raised as a farm boy, but such trappings have never enticed me. Typically I bought cheap and did any remodeling myself unless it dealt with electricity or plumbing. This still holds true. If I had any semblance of youth remaining I would somehow buy that old white house in Clinton with tons of character and is surrounded by weed trees and is basically falling apart by the month and restore it to its full glory. Even if I was in my 60s. Mom's credo was to live our lives without concern for what the neighbors might think. I feel I've been a good son.

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Well said Brent! The happiest time in my life, by far, when I was an undergraduate and didn’t have a dime. (My wife always hates it when I mention this as we had not yet met…..)

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