I missed that part about the rich inheriting the earth.

I'm sure there are many people out there (mainly Conneaut Lake alumni) who assume I'm either a)rich or b)enjoy coming from wealth. I hate to break it to them and anyone else who surmises these things, but I'm not and I don't.

I've moved from a predominantly poor area to a rich one three years ago. It seems as if my father's ilk has been cloned and placed here. The people are conceited, and if you aren't a teacher, doctor, or a lawyer, you're not only unworthy of their interaction with you, you're as valuable as a McDonald's employee. Fuck that.

I've seen some depressing outcomes of attaining wealth, because I'M CONSTANTLY VICTIMIZED BY IT IN MY OWN FAMILY. I've seen retirement, expensive cars, racing to make lofty accomplishments before rigor mortis sets in, and selling homes precede family values. I've seen doctors sell crystal vases for a dollar. I've seen the wives of the elite in this community not willing to allow plebeians to haggle at a yard sale, because the Vera Bradley purse being sold was worth $10 to the $80 required of the original purchase; $5 was not going to cut it.

It's sickening.

What the hell ever happened to making sure your children were happy? That they were comfortable approaching you when they had emotional problems as teenagers, or financial problems as adults? What happened to making sure your 20some-year-old adult children had the best possible start in life by helping consolidate their debt?

My fucking father was so wrapped up in selling homes to make money for his retirement, that he didn't care about moving across the state, and from town to town. He didn't care that his children were having emotional problems from it, or that he was dragging my mother along with it, and forcing her to be his fucking waif all the time. He thinks the reason I dragged my ass to therapy a couple of years ago was my fault, instead of the result of being abused by him and by everyone that went to my fucking schools, or perhaps dealing with a mental disorder for 21 years by myself. The nervous breakdown was coming. He's spent so much time working, enjoying his recognition for his work at UPS and the gallery, that he's failed to see how he's failed US.

Now he's announced that TJ and I will NOT receive an inheritance. "There's no point in leaving anything for your children, because the government will take half."

Thanks a lot, asshole. I'll make sure you get a pine box when I stick you in the ground.