First, if you haven't left me a birthday comment, I would still love one. It's the next post down. Yes, this is a Shameless Pobble Plug. :D
Now...
The Neiman's Christmas Book showed up today. If you don't know, Neiman Marcus is a high-end, very expensive department store based out of Texas. Their flagship store is in Dallas (and the only store where the actual, real, honest Santa Claus goes. Macy's has nothing on Neiman's!) God, do I remember as a kid when my parents would get it, flipping through this and ooo-ing and ahhh-ing and pretending I could buy anything I wanted out of it. I still can't afford a damn thing ~ I mean, come on, does anyone really need an $840 iPod carrying case? And no, that's not a typo. That's not supposed to be $84. It really is eight hundred forty dollars. Honestly, I would hope that, when (when!) I can afford an $840 iPod carrying case, I will still have the good sense not to buy an $840 iPod carrying case. The even more amazing thing is that after the oil markets in Texas crashed in the '80s, the prices and selection in the Neiman's Christmas Book went down ~ and they still haven't completely recovered. But I digress...
This morning, I sat on my stoop and flipped through this catalogue. The five-year old in me got incredibly excited again. Glitteries and silkies and slinkies and strappies... A set of dominos at $295. A $5000 dog sculpture made of watch faces. A $20,000 personal photo booth like you see at malls. A 1.5 million dollar private concert from Elton John (yes, you can buy Elton John from Neiman's). And, I shit you not, a 3.5 million dollar sky car. Neiman's is selling a car that flies. How can the kid in any of us not geek out over this stuff. So I feel no guilt at the vicarious rush I get reading this catalogue.
Then I start to think about...
...the Gulf Coast devastation
...American soldiers without proper equipment in a war
...thousands and thousands of working poor who are doing what they are "supposed" to do and still can't insure and feed their children
...the elderly trying to live on the pittance offered by social security after a lifetime of paying into it
...and, and and...
And there is so much. Which makes me ask again, does anyone ~ anyone ~ really need an $840 iPod carrying case???
Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.
6 comments:
so why is it i feel guilty when i buy a bottle of nailpolish i don't need for $4 and other people don't seem to think twice about buying an ipod carrying case for $800.
Yep, I would definitely consider that iPod carrying case a "you have too much money" test--if you contemplate that one, you definitely need to be sharing that with somebody.
Then again, I love to know that such things exist, and fantasize about them myself.
I do it with the Horchow furniture catalog, which is a division of Neiman Marcus.
"I can dream, can't I?"
I love the Neiman Marcus catalogue as well as the Horchow collection...
What amazes me is that there are a hell of a lot of people out there who can, without guilt purchase from both!
When you have the kind of wealth that allows an 840 dollar ipod case seem reasonable, I think you have no concept of how most people really live. People watch Paris Hilton and the other girl on their tv show, living amongst the rest of us, doing things that are abominable with no remorse simply because they can. Pretty much every word from their mouths shows the disdain they have for those who not only know what a Wal-Mart is - Paris had never heard of it - but who have actually shopped there. To someone like her, dropping $840 is like the rest of us spending 10 bucks.
Certainly there are those who have that kind of cash who are a bit more connected to the idea of a greater good, and they share the wealth. But even then, most seem to do it with a "look how great I am for helping poor people" attitude. No, not all of 'em, but a whole bunch.
I think it's all relative...if you have a billion dollars, or even more than a million, how expensive does several hundred dollars seem to you?
Have you watched "My Super Sweet Sixteen" on MTV? The babysitter was watching it one day and I sat down to watch and couldn't stop. It was the proverbial car wreck that I had to gawk at. Teenagers were spending as much as a million dollars on their birthday parties. What was horrid to me is that every single one of them (at least the episodes that I saw) was a spoiled, arrogant, bitchy, narcissistic brat who felt they were entitled to have that sort of party. They all treated their parents like shit, the parents allowed it, and every one of them said something about how they wanted every kid in the school to be insanely jealous. It's disgusting. Some people don't understand the need to teach their children the differences between need and want.
How can they feel any guilt about the Neiman's catalog when they've never had to shop from the Sear's catalog? Although, I must say that I don't feel that kind of guilt when I buy something. I'm not rich, but I have worked hard for every single penny I have, as has the hub, so when I am able to buy what I want as opposed to what I need, I feel blessed. And I usually wait till it's on sale, lol.
Whew...sorry for the long post.
Dang! After reading Jaded's comment, I forgot mine...
My word verification is "seady"
I'm beginning to think Jaded is right ~ the word verification is psychic!
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