God's way of telling you you have too much money

[Chicago Sandy]

I first heard that line used by a DJ about 30 years ago in response to an ad for a gumball-machine for doggy treats.

Now, this is tongue sutured-into-cheek, seeing as how prevalent GAS is around here (we DO play all our axes, right? At least that's what we tell our spouses and/or CPAs). Not to mention all the other expensive collectables we systematically accumulate, nor golf clubs, rifles, fishing gear, etc.. But we have crumbling infrastructures, record unemployment (in some sectors, astronomical), sky-high health care costs, government budgets being slashed, contracts being breached left and right...I mean, in private industry and the public sector, rampant homelessness (1/4 of America is only 2 paychecks away from that) and widespread hunger. 25% of America's children live officially below the poverty line.

Nevertheless (drum roll, please), for your consideration, I present selections from the current Frontgate catalog (which I have been receiving ever since buying one little doormat a decade ago):

A $3000 gas grill....with no side burner. And you think for that price they'd at least throw in an empty propane tank? Nope.

An $800 bar stool;

A $350 floating swimming-pool chaise--actually, more like a chair since it's shorter;

A $600 outdoor wicker pet bed;

A $500 doggy-crate;

A $350 portable firepit (just the receptacle, not powered in any way, no moving parts, doesn't include a cover or screen); ostensibly for beach use, but at 65 lbs. empty it should come with a gift certificate for a free hernia repair.

A $100 Bluetooth tabletop stand that turns an iPad into the screen of a mini-arcade game....actually a relative bargain (c'mon, admit it, we all want one if we have iPads);

A $180 t.p. holder;

A $200 magazine rack;

A $300 electronic cocktail maker (no, not a multi-jar *frozen drink* blender, which'll set you back only $500);

A $250 trash basket (no swinging doors or lift-up top);

A $200 fake potted palm tree (planter not included);

And a plethora of patio furniture, outdoor area rugs and upholstery accessories more luxurious than most people have inside their homes.

Yipes. To be fair, maybe there are groups of doggy-crate collectors out there desiring to own a future iconic model.....

[zabdart]

I always thought God's way of telling you you had too much money was Bernie Madoff... or Goldman Sachs... or something like that.

[HHP]

I'm guessing most people in this country would also find most outrageous a $3000 guitar.

[zabdart]

When I lived up in Cambridge, Mass. there was a guy who used to go busking in the Porter Square subway station every day with his Martin D-45!
Now why should I give my spare change to somebody who's got $5000 to spend on a guitar???? What's wrong with this picture???

[Chicago Sandy]

Originally Posted by zabdart

When I lived up in Cambridge, Mass. there was a guy who used to go busking in the Porter Square subway station every day with his Martin D-45!
Now why should I give my spare change to somebody who's got $5000 to spend on a guitar???? What's wrong with this picture???

Maybe he got it as a gift, or LONG before it became that valuable. I've got several guitars whose MSRPs are more than double what I paid for them. Anyway, if he's busking for a living it's his tool of trade, perhaps the only valuable possession he has. (BTW, acclaimed superstar violinist Joshua Bell once decided to busk--with his STRADIVARIUS!--in a DC Metro station just to see if anyone would pay attention, much less pay him anything. Only 2 or 3 people in the entire time he played even noticed him, and the one who stopped to listen was a toddler whose mom yanked him away and kept walking. I think he may have made carfare). Most people have no idea of the difference between a D-45 and a $150 Costco Yamaha dread--we are a very small subset of the public--and if the guy's good, or plays something they recognize and plays it well, they'll throw some coin his way. I have a friend--legendary in Chicago in his day--who used to busk on Rush St. (Yuppie-singles-bar-heaven) with his $4000 Stelling bluegrass banjo. He was good enough to be nominated for a Grammy for his version of "Autumn Leaves" and did an amazing job playing "Carmina Burana" on banjo. That, along with cabdriving in weather too bad to busk, was how he made his living. (Sadly, he's way too disabled now and lives up in Madison).

[SongwriterFan]

Originally Posted by Chicago Sandy

I present selections from the current Frontgate catalog (which I have been receiving ever since buying one little doormat a decade ago):

If you ever find a motion-detector-based liquid soap dispenser (not the kind that hangs on the walls in bathroom, or the kind that requires a hole in the countertop), do let me know.

I need some of those to go with the Delta faucets I'm probably gonna get in the new house.

Can't believe nobody seems to have come up with this idea yet.

[zabdart]

Don't think so, Sandy. He also sold personal CD's out of his guitar case he had pressed at his own expense. Anybody's who's got enough money to record his own CD, and have it pressed and professionally packaged, doesn't need the dough I work for as much as I do.

[Chicago Sandy]

Think I saw a touchless hand-soap dispenser at Williams-Sonoma (and it wasn't expensive). There's actually a valid hygienic reason for it.

Meanwhile, I just got a motion-sensor battery-operated kitchen trash can. I bought it not for that reason but for the fact it was stainless steel, built like a Sherman tank and my plastic one broke. (It'll last a lot longer and keep more plastic trash cans out of landfills, where they'll still remain long after human beings are extinct). It was on sale, too. Certainly not even 1/3 as much as the $250 Frontgate wants for a mere square wicker shell with a hole in it.

[Chicago Sandy]

Originally Posted by zabdart

Don't think so, Sandy. He also sold personal CD's out of his guitar case he had pressed at his own expense. Anybody's who's got enough money to record his own CD, and have it pressed and professionally packaged, doesn't need the dough I work for as much as I do.

Again, if that's how he makes his living, chances are he makes less and lives much more simply than you or I (and might not have the skills for a higher-paying job or have been laid off from one--or, increasingly in the case of today's college grads, may never have been able to land a job). He might be out there day in and out, in rotten weather, as well as playing long hours for tips in bars and coffeehouses, perhaps supporting or helping support his family. Were he to sell it and the money run out, there goes his livelihood. Tracy Chapman was given an expensive guitar (a Martin, Guild or Gibson, I'm not sure) by her classmates at the prep school where she was a full-ride scholarship student from the Cleveland ghetto--they felt her talent demanded better than the cheapie she'd been playing. When she went to Tufts (also on academic scholarship), she'd help defray living expenses by busking in Harvard Square, using that expensive guitar. She was fortunate that one of the passerby she impressed ran a record label. Had people snubbed her because of her pricey axe, we might never have heard of her.

And it costs less these days to record and even have pressed (and his might have been burned) and packaged a modest run of CDs. (We're talking less than four figures now, recording included). Your CD is more and more your business card. Suppose your contractor or handyman sank at least five figures into his tools. Would you refuse to pay him because he could afford something beyond discount-store quality?

[zabdart]

Originally Posted by Chicago Sandy

Tracy Chapman was given an expensive guitar (a Martin, Guild or Gibson, I'm not sure) by her classmates at the prep school where she was a full-ride scholarship student from the Cleveland ghetto--they felt her talent demanded better than the cheapie she'd been playing. When she went to Tufts (also on academic scholarship), she'd help defray living expenses by busking in Harvard Square, using that expensive guitar. She was fortunate that one of the passerby she impressed ran a record label. Had people snubbed her because of her pricey axe, we might never have heard of her.

I lived in Cambridge when Tracy Chapman was busking in Harvard Square, and I recall her playing an Ovation when she did. You make a lot of good points. I just resent giving my money to someone who is apparently making more money than I am already or has more money to burn than I do. I'll give you another weird example: Every day, when I came home from work, I used to see this guy in his designer jogging togs pay 75 cents for a subway token, and jog down the longest staircase in the entire subway system and climb back up again to get his exercise. I asked him about this once. He told me that it was cheaper than getting a membership to a gym and using their stairmaster -- completely ignoring the fact that the jogging togs he wore every day cost more than that!
Then there was the old guy who used to ride his bicycle through Davis Square every day wearing nothing but a tank top and jogging shorts -- even when it was below freezing outside!
There used to be a lot of eccentrics where I lived.

[Jeff D]

Some people just like to play for people and if they can get a few extra dollars out of it then so be it. I love playing for people. If I busked I'd also put out a tip jar just for the heck of it. This guy may be similar. Why not have a tip jar out, if people are willing to give you money should you turn it down?

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by Chicago Sandy

Meanwhile, I just got a motion-sensor battery-operated kitchen trash can. I bought it not for that reason but for the fact it was stainless steel, built like a Sherman tank and my plastic one broke. (It'll last a lot longer and keep more plastic trash cans out of landfills, where they'll still remain long after human beings are extinct)

I use a lockable trash can to keep the dogs out. It's lurvly at $35.




Meet the trashmasters, Zoe and Boo!

Bob

[Stixx]

We all have too much money and the proof is our guitars. Compared to many third world countries the poorest of Americans would be considered rich. Why else would so many people want to come here.

That said, I have always attested that God knows how much he can trust me with and that is why when things are good and I invariably get stupid with my money the faucet shuts off until I rain in my spending on frivalous things...........

BMW Motorcycle 21000 bucks
Collings Guitar 5400 bucks
Riding gear 500 bucks per
Helmet with radio built in 1000 bucks
Special bmw underwear 55 bucks
Socks 30 bucks a pair
Gloves (racing) 195 bucks
Motorad boots 495 bucks (hey they look cool)
I could go on but the whole thing is ridiculous. We can justify anything if it is a hobby. I save like a pauper in most other areas but give a man a hobby and price is no object . That in my view is the truth of it.

[PorkPieGuy]

Originally Posted by SongwriterFan

If you ever find a motion-detector-based liquid soap dispenser (not the kind that hangs on the walls in bathroom, or the kind that requires a hole in the countertop), do let me know.

I need some of those to go with the Delta faucets I'm probably gonna get in the new house.

Can't believe nobody seems to have come up with this idea yet.

http://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Motion-...uct/B002CSRMMC

http://www.buy.com/prod/touch-free-l...220887203.html

http://www.amazon.com/Simplehuman-Se.../dp/B003SGLM5A

http://www.nextag.com/motion-sensor-...nser/shop-html

I didn't know if you were serious or not...

[Bikewer]

A few months ago, NPR's The World had a report from the yacht show in Bahrain. (prior to the current difficulties...)
If one owns a 200 foot yacht with gold-plated bathroom fixtures and all-handmade teak everything else...What else to spend one's money on?

Well, putting a SECOND helicopter landing pad on your yacht is apparently a popular option, just in case you have two groups of well-heeled friends arriving at the same time..... No annoying hovering.

Or, a submarine! Not just any old unterseeboot mind you, the subs being sold to the 200-foot yacht crowd have the same gold-plated fittings as you'd see above the waves, as well as various other luxurious amenities...

Hell, all that oil money has to go somewhere, right?