I remember when I was a teenage kid working at McDonalds, there was an older guy (30ish) who was in the military who worked there part time. He often said things that sounded kinda wise to me and the fact that he was also a black man, I kinda looked up to him because I felt he could more so relate to my circumstances than anyone else thus I had more respect for what he had to say than I would anyone else I had contact with.
I had concerns about my financial future and he told me something that sounded too easy to be true.
He said in the USA if you follow these 5 simple rules it would be extremely rare if you still wind up poor.
1. Finish High School
2. Do not have any children before you get married, and once you get married, stay married
3. Dont get married until you are at least 25 yrs old
4. Do not allow yourself to go to Juvenile hall, Jail, or Prison
5. Invest every penny you get your hands on.
It sounded too easy to be true so I had my doubts but I became determined to prove to myself weather it was true or not. Looking back, I was able to accomplish 4 of the 5 goals he set for me and I did not wind up poor. When I look at all the people I have had contact with who did wind up poor or with extreme financial problems, they all have failed in at least 1 of those categories.
I believe most people who wind up poor are that way as a result of bad financial decisions they have made
Ken
Did you wonder why a former military man in his thirties was working in McDonald's part time?
Well...I won't make an assumptions about that--heck, while I was still active duty military in my thirties, I spent a few months running pizzas for Domino's part-time.
But...did
you wonder? Or did it somehow seem "appropriate" that a black man approaching middle age was working part-time in McDonalds so that you didn't even wonder about it? I hope you did wonder.
But because he was former military, he's actually "not your average black guy," at least not anymore.
Side observation: Back when I was in college in the early 70s, the "young rebel fashion statement" was the olive drab military field jacket. All young American men were wearing them (replacing the leather biker jacket of the 50s).
That's because Vietnam was the shared experience of the young men of that generation. A huge percentage of us had been to Vietnam. Almost all of us had held a draft card, so Vietnam had been a sword hanging over our heads whether we'd been there or not. It was a social issue that touched every single young man of the latter sixties. The olive drab Army field jacket was the symbol of that issue. You saw it everywhere, especially on urban streets where young black men had been drafted in much higher proportion than young white men.
Today, the "young rebel fashion statement" is the baggy, drooping trousers. I thought about that for a moment, and realized that for urban black youth today,
prison is the "shared experience of the young men of that generation."
Like Vietnam, a huge percentage have been there--primarily because of the "war on drugs"--and a run-in with police that can easily end in incarceration hangs like a sword over every urban youth's head like Vietnam hung over mine. So...the baggy, saggy trousers today are like the Army field jacket of my day.
Sometimes I think about my life, which was never luxurious, but I'd still call it blessed. I never had to walk around criminals to get to school. I was never faced with a "join the gang or be killed" decision. I was never faced with a "skip school or be killed" situation.
In my day, education was still prized: The "intellectual" had an acknowledged role in the Revolution.
Everyone in my world as a child and young man was fully engaged in supporting education. Even the bum on the street would have railed, "Why aren't you kids in school?" and would seriously inquire "Young man, what are you going to be when you grow up?"
And when I think about it, that was a question any and all adults had for us: "What are you going to be when you grow up?" We were asked that question constantly by adults everywhere.
That's an interesting question because the questioner implied two things: A confidence that I would grow up--I would survive to adulthood--and a confidence that
I was in charge of what I would become.
Do urban kids even get that kind of "subliminal encouragement" these days from all the adults around them?
I really can't say with casual glibness that I would have been man enough under the urban conditions of today to do any better.
I've known some men who have survived those conditions. I have great respect for those who have survived--they are mostly better men than I am. I listen to their stories and just say, "Damn."
But I have to say even for those who have not survived..."There but for the grace of God, perhaps go I."
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