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Larz's avatar

Stolen valor-

I had a boyfriend in Portland, Oregon back in 2010 who got a bunch of Indian casino money each month. He desperately wanted to think of himself as working class.

I did not have any such money and stood for 8 hour shifts in high heels doing people's makeup (back when MAC 'strongly encouraged' high heels).

Anyway, the man went out of his way to buy a vintage Toyota, all the very, very best 'working gear' (his job was doing cocaine in the middle of the day and watching pornography) and of course, Carhartt boots. His justification for all this was

'it'll last a lifetime. I'm not fancy. Unlike you, I'm not superficial.'

The effort this man went to to pretend he was poor was way more work than actually being poor.

Anyway, nothing bad ever happened to him because every wrong turn he ever made was cushioned by money. But he sure was insufferable.

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Mike Bond's avatar

A colleague who saw me with Howard Zinn's History of America asked me why I was reading it and I replied so I could know what the enemy was thinking. Which is also why I, too, subscribe to and read The Nation. Always worth a laugh, I hasten to add their writers are not really the enemy, but misguided souls, good writers usually, and have the knack for getting their work into print. I just wish they'd bring someone with the point of view and wit of Christopher Hitchens back.

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