Jan 9: Money, Money

So then the young guy continues chatting about the wealth around town. "It's amazing," he says, "Lamborghinis, Rolls, Porsches. You see them everywhere." Their conversation turned to something else after this, computers or whatever. I had the feeling they both were techies of some kind. But I found the comments interesting.

When you live here, you sometimes forget about all the luxury that is woven into the fabric of today's Greater Fort Lauderdale. Until you stop and look around - maybe after overhearing comments by some tourist. Expensive cars and expensive homes. Expensive shops and expensive restaurants whose patrons are the folks in those expensive cars and homes. It really is amazing when you take it all in, just as the young man said. That's why a tour along the rivers and canals in Fort Lauderdale is a must for any visitor. It gives you a view of that money you won't see in any other way, all the waterside multi-million dollar mansions with all their multi-million dollar yachts. This is something to see, to experience, to smile at or laugh at as you choose. It is one face of South Florida. The truth is that this is a truly diverse community. Culturally, racially, economically diverse. Every other car is not a Mercedes or BMW ... or Lamborghini or Rolls-Royce or Porsche. It's simply that there are more of them here per capita than in most other places you'll find in the world. Whatever our feelings about Wall Street or the 1% or anything else, most of us have some fascination with fabulous wealth. We may never have it ourselves. We may not even want it. But we have to admit that, yes, it's amazing. The money is just another of the many elements that have created the unique vibe you feel in this part of the world. I suspect that Gus and his buddy could care less about owning one of those Lamborghinis - but they sure seemed to enjoy looking.