Some Still Find The American Dream

I guess when the economy is in the toilet and so many American's are suffering it is easy to lose sight of success.  Of course success has many variations and it is difficult, perhaps nearly impossible to quantify.  There is personal success, familial success, emotional success, success in quality of life.  For most, the word success reflects monetary success. One of the reasons it is so hard to raise taxes on the rich in America is that aside from the fact that the control the levers of power, many Americans cling to the thought that someday they might be among them and wouldn't that be cutting our own throat?

I decided long ago that I will never leave the 99 percent.  I don't have a business mind and I am afraid to take too many risks.  Aside from a winning lottery ticket, I will never join the ranks of the one percent.  I am a realist and to even contemplate such a monetary advance is akin to looking at your child play pee wee sports and think that some day they will be in the NFL.

Despite this personal reality I recently came across a story of a couple people I knew that crossed the line.  I guess it is sort of like being a childhood friend of Bill Gates.  In you memory he just seemed like the little kid that picked his nose yet now he is one of the richest men in the world.  

When I first met Ragu and Geeta America was new to them.  I was still living with my parents at the time in Anchorage, Alaska.  A business colleague of my father's sponsored them from India and they came to the United States with almost nothing.  The summer of their arrival we were traveling in Europe and my parents offered for them to house sit our house.  I came back a bit early and had the good fortune to meet and live with them for a few weeks.  It was my first experience to live with an Indian and they introduced me to the wonderful flavors of Indian food.  I had tasted it while abroad but having someone cook for me was an entirely different experience alltogether.  Sangeeta or Geeta for short was very traditional.  She had a dot on her forehead and stood behind her new husband Ragu while he ate.  I remember a giant wooden crate sitting outside the house that had been shipped from India filled with Indian spices.

Lakshmi

I maintained contact with them and eventually after getting married my wife and I stayed their friends.  I remember attending dinner at their small apartment in Anchorage to celebrate Lakshmi the Hindu Goddess of good fortune.  On a different occassion we visited a house that they had subsequently purchased. By that time the Indian mother of Ragu or Geeta had joined them.  Something about America seems to overwhelm traditional values and it was not long before the once quiet and traditional Geeta had lost her way.  I recall Ragu asking her for a beer and Geeta replying, "Get it yourself."  You go girl! I thought. 

As time and circumstances of life often lead us in different directions I fell out of touch with them yet their name stayed in my address book.  Something about the fond memories kept it there, prohibiting me from letting it go.  Recently I did some searching and discovered that they had moved from Alaska to California taking up roost in Silicon Valley.  They started as accountants with some firm and now seem to own their own large company.  My simple yet exceedingly hard working friends were now CEO and COO, business titles as foreign to me as the food they once served.  From the looks of it they are probably worth millions and live in a mansion in the hills outside of San Francisco.  Somewhere Ragu and Geeta found the financial definition of American success.  I suspect the strong Indian familial ties have also remained strong as well.  I wonder if Mama is still living with them.

I sent them a note but have yet to hear back.  I hope all is well with them and the wonderful smell of curry still emanates from their kitchen.  As for myself, I am seriously considering becoming a Hindu and having my own festival dedicated Lakshmi to the Goddess of money and fortune.