One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country. He wanted to show his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked. "Oh yes," said the son. "So what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden and they have a stream that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
"We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have people who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property, but they have friends to protect them."
With this, the boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks Dad, for showing me how poor we are."
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
