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Abstract

and just enjoying his retirement. His children ran the business and only called him if it was absolutely urgent, which was almost never.When he started to talk about his classic car collection I realised that this was one very wealthy man indeed. I cannot say any more than that as he is understandably careful about who he is and what he is worth. From his demeanour you would never guess what his assets are and what figure his annual salary runs to, it’s a lot. Just one of his many cars is worth a cool five million!He then asked me to help him to find some local property he could invest in. I asked him for a ballpark figure and he said it was immaterial. Off I went the next day and I came up with a portfolio of five properties priced between two and five million euros. He did not blink an eye.“ Ok, let’s do a tour of all of them starting at the most expensive one first. And with that, off we went in his humble little runabout.We made one or two offers, all of which are pending. I am sure he could buy all of them if he so wished. From there, our relationship developed into a very warm closeness. We are like a couple of buddies.He was interested in my music and bought thirty copies of my last album, Lost and Found. He wanted to give the copies to some friends and some of his employees as a gift. He also asked his hotel for permission for me to play their grand piano for him in their lobby hall and they said yes.It was a wonderful experience. Other guests arriving asked me to please continue when I stopped playing. But I had promised to also play my acoustic guitar for him in the private hotel bar. On each occasion, I played for him (there were quite

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a few more) he paid me generously.Despite the lockdown and my necessary move to Japan for health reasons, not to mention it was my second home anyway, we have kept up the contact. A month ago he rang me out of the blue to see how I was. I told him I was ok. He then told me that he guessed I was passing a tough time economically and ordered one thousand more cd’s to help me out.Now, this where I love the internet. To make the copies here in Japan and post them to him would have been inordinately expensive. Also, there would have been punitive European import taxes to pay. No problem. I searched the internet for companies in Europe and found a very good one in France. I sent them audio and artwork files by dropbox and it was all taken care of for me. Josef got the cd’s just this week. He said he is going to give them out as a Christmas gift to his employees.I am telling you this story to show that not all rich people are swine. This is a guy with a very big heart and his feet very firmly on the ground. He is just a regular guy who you would not know, not even from his clothes (worn out jeans, an open neck shirt and some well worn loafers, no expensive jewellery). It is slightly amusing to note how the poor dress up and the rich dress down. Both are smart enough to know that one shouldn't flaunt ones economic position in life.My final message is, do not pre-judge people just because they have been successful in life or indeed, if they have had the misfortune to fall on hard times.<figure id="a4e8"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*HkSiqC06iXve06BWhEJX8w.jpeg"><figcaption>Photograph by Tom Parsons on Unsplash</figcaption></figure></article></body>

How The Other Half Live

You would never guess

A few years ago I was out performing solo at a restaurant in some European country. For some reason, it was a small crowd and not that receptive. I did my gig and went to have a coffee break at a small table on the patio. Suddenly a big voice boomed across the dining area

“Hey, c’mon over here and have a drink with us.”

I stood up, picked up my coffee and walked over to their table for two. It was an older gentleman with a much younger woman. He was from Italy and she was from some mid-European country I forget. What I do remember was that they were clearly more than just friends.

I sat down and the gentleman called the waiter over and told him to take my coffee away and get me a ‘proper’ drink. I chose an oloroso sherry which is good for my throat. I have never lost my voice since I took up drinking a glass or two a week. Mind you, due to the lockdown and not being able to perform in public, I haven't had a single one in six months.

Then the gentleman’s very large meal arrived a beautiful tenderloin steak with vegetables. The gentleman asked the waiter for an extra plate and knife and fork. He wanted to share his glorious meal with me and wouldn’t take no for an answer. The food was delicious.

During the meal, he told me how much he had enjoyed my performance. Within a very short time, we were chatting and joking like old friends.

He told me he was a businessman and just enjoying his retirement. His children ran the business and only called him if it was absolutely urgent, which was almost never.

When he started to talk about his classic car collection I realised that this was one very wealthy man indeed. I cannot say any more than that as he is understandably careful about who he is and what he is worth. From his demeanour you would never guess what his assets are and what figure his annual salary runs to, it’s a lot. Just one of his many cars is worth a cool five million!

He then asked me to help him to find some local property he could invest in. I asked him for a ballpark figure and he said it was immaterial. Off I went the next day and I came up with a portfolio of five properties priced between two and five million euros. He did not blink an eye.

“ Ok, let’s do a tour of all of them starting at the most expensive one first. And with that, off we went in his humble little runabout.

We made one or two offers, all of which are pending. I am sure he could buy all of them if he so wished. From there, our relationship developed into a very warm closeness. We are like a couple of buddies.

He was interested in my music and bought thirty copies of my last album, Lost and Found. He wanted to give the copies to some friends and some of his employees as a gift. He also asked his hotel for permission for me to play their grand piano for him in their lobby hall and they said yes.

It was a wonderful experience. Other guests arriving asked me to please continue when I stopped playing. But I had promised to also play my acoustic guitar for him in the private hotel bar. On each occasion, I played for him (there were quite a few more) he paid me generously.

Despite the lockdown and my necessary move to Japan for health reasons, not to mention it was my second home anyway, we have kept up the contact. A month ago he rang me out of the blue to see how I was. I told him I was ok. He then told me that he guessed I was passing a tough time economically and ordered one thousand more cd’s to help me out.

Now, this where I love the internet. To make the copies here in Japan and post them to him would have been inordinately expensive. Also, there would have been punitive European import taxes to pay. No problem. I searched the internet for companies in Europe and found a very good one in France. I sent them audio and artwork files by dropbox and it was all taken care of for me. Josef got the cd’s just this week. He said he is going to give them out as a Christmas gift to his employees.

I am telling you this story to show that not all rich people are swine. This is a guy with a very big heart and his feet very firmly on the ground. He is just a regular guy who you would not know, not even from his clothes (worn out jeans, an open neck shirt and some well worn loafers, no expensive jewellery). It is slightly amusing to note how the poor dress up and the rich dress down. Both are smart enough to know that one shouldn't flaunt ones economic position in life.

My final message is, do not pre-judge people just because they have been successful in life or indeed, if they have had the misfortune to fall on hard times.