DAZZLING RICHES

By Dode Sescri

WORDS TO ELATE

Seventh Agenda

Copyright © 2016 DODE®

No part of this book should be redistributed without prior permission from the author, both in print, portable digital format and online.

Disclaimer

All readers are welcome to challenge the contents of this book, and should process them with their uttermost intellectual capabilities before they can assess them for reference purposes because they are largely a work of the author’s own Personal Opinions.

Some stories given as examples in this book do not represent Factual or historical events but have been used fictitiously to bring out the literal aspects of discussions and also demonstrate the author’s intended thoughts and ideas exemplarily. Do not take them too seriously.

This book is stacked up with numerous mini chapters the author refers to as glittering. Each glittering stands for each idea or topic of discussion.

You will also find some non-English words, the author has used them only for the sake of enhancing description. They are not a result of typo.

Table of Contents

Glittering-1-money a bad master.

Glittering-2-Society old and new.

Glittering-3-Visitors not beggars.

Glittering-4-The adventures of a silver coin.

Glittering-5-so rich so fast.

Glittering-6-what money can buy.

Glittering-7-who gives more.

Glittering-8-the masses mauled the rich.

Glittering-9-The Inertia of Wealth

Glittering-10-money grained.

Glittering-11-numerous demands

Glittering-12-A newly found success.

Glittering-13-class misquote.

Glittering-14-ill wealth.

Glittering-15-worth a dime.

Glittering-16-lose your cash lose your friends.

Glittering-17-still at home.

Glittering-18-New goods bring new foes.

Glittering-19-Union of Commons

Glittering-20-lost and found.

Glittering-21-The yacht still remains a poor man's dream vessel.

Glittering-22- love for luxury.

Glittering-23-selfish families.

Glittering-24-enjoying my sweat.

Glittering-25- bare-backs in a naturist town

Glittering-26- welcome to my HoliGanza.

Final Clause

Footnotes.

Glittering-1-money a bad master.

This bad master called money has managed to gain control of every aspect of our lives, it has made us (the entire humanity) slaves to its shiny streak and lustre, and you simply can't do anything without it. You can't eat, walk or sleep without it, neither could you stay a whole day without it ever crossing your mind. "Even my freedom of thought you want to take away? You are such a mean formless creature! How I wish I could send you away from my life for good, never to see you again.’’

‘’Why should I waste away my life working for you and worry myself to depression thinking about you? Why should I have too much concern for you and take great care of you as if you are my child? You have made yourself so special and important that men all over the world run after you, the sight of your elegant walk drives them crazy, and can't stop thinking about you till they have you in their possession. Even after they get shiny treasures from you, you make them hunger for more. They will even kill one another because of you. You corrupt everyone that falls in love with you.

You ill wretched devil! How come you have brought this unbearable misery to the world? You put on a queen’s dress to capture the attention of others, from the outside you look beautiful, but deep beneath your skin is covered with scales, and your shiny lips are hiding terrifying fangs.

You brought jealousy, lust, anger, hatred and violence into the world, all kinds of evil you brought them with you. Yet you still have the desire to hide your true identity and mess up life out here. You still want men to continue to adore you, as if you came from the stars. You want to have absolute control over them. Their thoughts, their actions, their feelings. In everything they do, you want them to remember you.

How I wish I could turn you into a donkey so that you would carry me on your back, how I wish I could turn you into an ox so that you would plough my fields, or turn you into a dog so that you will guard my house. Without that you are worthless, your shining jewels are of no use to me. I am not that fellow whom you can easily fool.’’

‘’How I wish I was born in a world where people got all their basic needs without having to use money.”

The cavemen did not have money nor complex lifestyles, but at least they were happy, the simpler your life is, the happier you are.

Glittering-2-Society old and new.

Those nations that feel very little to no impacts of planetary economic tsunamis are communities where the societies have cleverly merged the old and the new, there's a good number of people who aren't so much reliant on state sponsored employment programs. They grow their own food, produce their energy and educate their children, they have learned never to live beyond their means. The highly industrialised nations are ones affected the most whenever there is an economic downturn. So, the industries which formed the bulk of livelihood are forced to shut down driving countless numbers of people into despair. A city relying solely on manufacturing is living dangerously on a knife’s edge, should any slight wave shake those factories then life in the city withers and fades away. Be happy for buying yourself a new pair of boots but don’t throw away the old shoes, it might turn out to be the ones to save you from frost bite, when the ferocious cold winter winds begin to blow.

Glittering-3-Visitors not beggars.

I no longer visit Thompson at his mansion these days, because the moment I show my face at the place, his wife and family thinks I've come to beg. ‘’What’s up Thompson? Have you forgotten me so quickly? our old-time stories, do you remember them? Or is it that you’ve grown so busy these days that you don’t have time for me? I just stopped by to say hello to you, old friend, if it’s your money you are deeply concerned about and you won’t let me in because of that, please keep it, I have no intention of asking anything from you. Do you certainly think I have come here to beg from you?’’

Glittering-4-The adventures of a silver coin.

A silver coin fell off from the hands of a roman aristocrat as he was counting his money in the city square, it rolled on the floor and travelled several metres before it reached the feet of a child where it settled, the kid picked it up then asked everyone around who was the owner, when no one showed up to claim their property, he was glad they had done so, he quickly ran off to the grocer where he bought a bunch of mangoes, one for himself and one for his little sister. The grocer put the coin in an old sack where she keeps her other coins. It stayed there for two months without being disturbed, sometime later, the grocer decided to get herself a small piece of land where she would build her cottage, she would use her few earned coins from her vendor store. She went over and handed in the entire money bag to the land owner, the land lord on the other hand bought some farm animals with it, the farmer who now owned it kept the coin stored in a barn with the other coins.

One day a horse stirred the bag and the coin rolled out, it fell into the fodder, where a cow later swallowed it with hay. It stayed in its belly for a few days before getting to release it on a ranch as waste, there in the ground it stayed once more for a whole six-month period. When the farmer was practicing crop rotation, and had turned the former ranch area into a ploughing field, he accidentally hit something one day which almost damaged his new expensive plough, he dug up the soil to check what exactly it was, and found a shiny little thing sitting deep beneath the soil. He couldn’t remember exactly where it came from, so he just decided to put it away in a safe back at his home in the city near the great Vesuvius, five years later great fire and white smoke came down from the mountains and engulfed the city, burying everyone inside including the safe box.

After a period of nearly two millennia, an archaeologist is digging up the remnants of the city when he spots a large sized coin charred with volcanic ash, though greatly eroded the writings on it were still very clearly visible,

"It’s the face of Augustin," said one of them, he therefore rushed it to the laboratory to be cleaned with ultra-superior chemicals, when it was finished it was placed in a museum behind a glass wall.

It stayed there safely for a long time never to be easily touched by viewers. About three decades later an artefacts’ robber managed to pass security barriers and broke into the glass box, he grabbed everything that was there in the presence of the cameras including the gold jewels, while he was on his run outside to put his staff away into a safe place, the silver coin slipped off from his hands and fell into small opening on the road, where it went straight into a large sewer, it was carried away further by the underground drainage, the adventures of the silver coin then begin once more….

These are the interesting and disgusting adventures of a silver coin.

There is both good and evil engraved on the opposite sides of that coin, as a lot of good things can be done with the money so can a lot of evil be used for the same coin. It has gone through many things for many reasons. Many countless things it has touched before it reached your hands. Some coins could be much older than those that bear them.

Glittering-5-so rich so fast.

When some folks say they need more transparency in your financial operations, what they actually mean is that they need to know how much money is in your personal bank account, how much goes in and how much goes out daily, then broadcast that information live to the whole world, then maybe later they will figure out a way to rob you of your cash through extortion, blackmail, whatever way. If you refuse asking them to show more proofs of their leniency, “you are not some kind of authority, are you? Show me your warrants before you can enter my apartment,” if you were to ask them, in that case they will start branding you with all kinds of evil names, a gangster, a secret drug lord, a money launderer, a grave robber, etc., anything they can think of, none of the two sides is better anyway, it's just up to you to choose which one you can take.

People have their own way of explaining things they don’t understand.

Since they are not included in your ventures or do not benefit in any way, they decide to give you a tongue lashing or lots of negative comments.

Two middle aged fellows were asked by their parents in the countryside what job they did in the cities that they got so rich in a matter of a few years. The gentleman said that he is a professional code breaker, he works for a large firm as a security director.

The girl on the other hand said that she was a professional sleeper, she tries out new mattresses and pillows that a certain company produces, gives them a good rating before they can be mass produced. If the pillow or mattress turns out to be too hard or too soft, or should it cause her to have a muscle ache in the morning, the prototype is immediately removed from production for the fear it might have the same effects on customers.

Upon hearing their children's new careers, the parents were shocked beyond belief, because they could not fully comprehend what exactly their children did in the cities, such careers were not present during their era. They immediately prohibited their children from returning to the cities, until when they have decided what they should do about it. Their parents were not condemning them, they simply feared for them. They did not understand what was happening as at the present time. "Our son is breaking into things in the city as a profession, while our daughter is sleeping around, what misery has begotten us!" the old couple said to one another as they hugged each other, they cried into each other's arms. "How can we peacefully depart from this world if we do not know the fate of our descendants?" they wept.

It was only after many weeks later when their uncle who lived in the city with them came to explain the intricate details of the profession that the elderly couple’s worries faded away, he said to them that their children are among the new generation that’s going to change the face of the city.

Glittering-6-what money can buy.

When people see you have acquired wealth to a certain level in life, they start preaching to you these ‘’MONEY CAN'T BUY SERMONS.’’

- Money can't buy happiness!

- Money can't buy love!

- Money can't buy life!

They shout all these into the ears of some hardworking athlete who simply replies, "you say money can't buy whatever things you have listed, all right, I have heard your bellows, and what can it buy then? Whatever it is that money can buy that’s what I am going to get it for myself. Don’t pester me with what it can’t. Your speeches are a loser’s way of convincing themselves that they are still on the right track when they have failed to achieve the basic fundamental goals in life." money can't buy life, I know that of course, I have heard all that before.

Money can buy freedom from manual labour and excessive workload. You didn’t note that. Money can also buy you lots of comforts, you forgot to list that as well.

Glittering-7-who gives more.

The poor man gives more to others and pays more in taxes compared to his wealthy counterpart, even though he has given out only a quarter of his earnings, that’s a huge cut based on his social status, the funds given off could have sustained him for another month or two, or pay his rent. If the rich man is forced to pay more than a half of his earnings, the prospect wouldn’t hurt him that much because he still has much more to keep.

Glittering-8-the masses mauled the rich.

The masses have gathered out in the city squares, protesting about social inequality, injustice, unemployment, inability to pay for basic commodities. “All oligarchs must be pulled down from their high ranks on these social classes, and be turned into mere urchins like us because they have manipulated the tools of trade for many generations, each family that comes acquires more wealth than it has inherited from its ancestors,” they scream out to their provincial departments for justice.

One thing that lingers in my mind is whether these people really know what they are doing? Could they just be following another blind activist who claims to be speaking for the poor, yet he does not understand how the society is structured, how both the rich and the poor depend on one another? None can live without the other, in fact the term rich and poor simply comes along after the entire society is put on a linear unit of scale in terms of material possessions.

A prince once walked into a city, he gathered all the people in it and counted their number, he counted the number of bags of grain each family had put in store for the coming winter, those who had a hundred or more in their granaries he called them rich, while those who had less than five were called poor, yet all of them had enough to keep them alive during the winter, these terms only come along after he compared one person with another, previously they were all called citizens of the Stone castle.

When you demand that economic reforms be enacted against the rich, do you mean that we should take away all the savings of the rich and divide it among you, how sure are you that you are capable of managing it well, the wealthy nobles you see riding glittering horses some of them were once dirt poor, the rich worked very hard for their financial success, it wasn’t given to them on a silver platter, even if all the wealthy people in the world were to give away their riches to the poor, there will always be poor people. The poverty of the world will engulf their riches and still remain in rags. Poverty is like a tattered garment that all humanity is born with.

If everybody has the same financial level, then words such as rich and poor will disappear from our vocabulary, they will be permanently plucked off the face of the English language for they will be meaningless. Have you forgotten that they have created jobs for tens of thousands who previously had nowhere to go? They created their wealth by making others rich, and then collect small quantities of gold coins from each person's compound they had built a mansion for, only a small proportion from each individual flows back to them. The large stockpile of cash many claim to have is not literary in their pockets, but out circulating in the economy, in businesses, transport, NGOs, government institutions etc. they are just a figure head, a mere representation of the wealth the society owns at large. Pull them out and see what happens to civil order. Unless you want to switch places, you in their luxurious mansions, and they in your makeshift camps.

If you knew what life was like during the dark ages and thousands of years ago and also in other civilisations across the world you would be thankful that you are born into present day age of reason. For some kings and their royal families owned everything in a country, nobody is allowed to buy or sell property, travel or do business without his permission. those who are born into rich families remain in wealthy status while those who are born into peasantry remain servants of others for the rest of their lives, the rich stay rich while the poor remain poor by law unlike in our today's society where anyone regardless of origin, place of birth, can work their way up the ladder of chivalry, and even surpass those in the super league.

A lot has been done for the current generation, yet they still complain. They are given mandatory healthcare, as soon as they are born, thousands of needles penetrate their arms and bottoms, and as soon as they are able to stand up or walk, they are forced into school, given mandatory education.

When they are adults, the state borrows gold and silver from the wealthy merchants of the world and gives them to do trade. They spend that in some illegal shady projects and end up losing all of it. Now you are coming back to the ward, asking state officials to rob the richest merchants of the world of all their wealth and hand it over to you. "How shameful are you", says the economist, all these things have been done for them yet they still complain, I wish they could cover their faces so that I would not see them, and cover their mouths so I wouldn’t hear their endless complains, not unless you are better than they are will you have the right to judge them.

Penguinism, is what you want, to create a condition where everybody has the same level of financial position. No one has more or less. No matter how hard others work for their wealth you still want them to remain dirt poor.

Here you have a chance to work your way to riches, if you can sweat your way to the top till you surpass them just as they did with others, why are you still complaining about inequality? No one has tied your hands and prevented you from working, and no one has blocked your merchant ships from conducting any kind of global trade, why then do you still complain? There are countless organizations who are willing to pour tons of silver coins into your wooden ships. As long as you prove to them you are a brilliant trader, they will continue to support you until you become very rich. Richer than the King of England.

Most tycoons became wealthy after several decades of resilience, hard work and patience, it would be unrealistic for anyone to fathom such kind of success in just a few years. All work and no sleep makes jack a rich boy.

Glittering-9-The Inertia of Wealth

Those guys know very well how poor you were before, and wished you had remained the same, so that you would still be equals, its simply that your new status caught them by surprise, they simply can't comprehend. No wonder why people are casting shadows of doubt & disapproval upon them, and saying demeaning things about their success. It appears the only way you can be reaccepted by some of those fellows back at your old place is to lose your current property and be like them once again, and you'd be welcome at their local community parliament. Its looks like you are now out of reach of any of their advances, it would therefore be a reasonable thing for them to avoid you at all possible costs.

It's like when a relative takes a visit to a distant land where they stay for many years, when he/she returns he notices that one member of the family is missing, then asks, "where is that little kid that used to play around this compound?" the others then get to reply, well, "he's the one standing next to you," when he turns his eyes to the left, he sees a great towering figure, "oh you have grown tall, you even dwarf me! " He exclaims, the other members remind him that he has been away for more than ten years now, he shouldn’t be expecting to find the kid in the same small size he left him before.

People would like to see you remain in the small baby size they left you at, partly as a wish and partly as way of comforting themselves that things are still in the old ways they were.

Glittering-10-money grained.

A Fork-lift contractor and the fixer once received a phone call, his partners from the other side of the conversation talks to him about someone he once knew, "do you remember Billy the Hiker?" "yes of course I know him," replied the contractor, "I hear he is buying lots of crazy stuff at the reserve, some old antlers, for a great fortune….." well I quite understand what he is up to," replied the fellow, "I know what money does to people, those who were once quiet and calm become loud and stubborn when they gained overwhelming amounts of fortune, you see Bennie, when you have lots of cash in the pocket, you are led to believe you can do anything in the world, even think you can fly to Pluto and come back safely.

Your words become synonymous with phrases such as ‘’how much do you want?’’ you are always on a shopping spree, grabbing everything including things that you necessarily don’t need to purchase. You begin to nurture the idea that everything cheap is of poor quality or is meant for the poor people.

Shrewd Traders know how to take advantage of this excitement, they’ll strip a fool and his money down to every single cent, you end up buying a thatched cottage at the price of castle. When you are now happy that you have made a clever bargain. When you are finally home with your priced possession, the people ask you, ‘’how much is that bird?’’ Then you say, “I have bought it for just five hundred pounds, can you imagine that, in fact it was more than a thousand when I cleverly pulled it down to just five hundred", then everybody's mouth is left wide open, they don’t know what to say "he told me, this bird is a rare species, it has the most unique combination of feathers in the province, no one else has it except you," that’s why I bought it, can't you see I have in my possession a precious jewel? How long are you going to keep it then? More questions come in when he realises that he had been fooled, he goes out and puts the lonely bird in a shredder.

Glittering-11-numerous demands

A newly found wealth creates havoc. Money has magnified the problems of our modern-day societies, it is the number one cause of all social unrests.

Many people are overwhelmed by numerous demands that flow in once they strike it rich, from either the people they know closely or from their relatives, they come from every direction wanting a share of it, "we saw you on the big screen, you had won a hundred trillion in a lottery ticket, do you believe that Bennie!, we are rich!"

First his wife starts making countless demands, she wants him to take her on a vacation, then when she returns, she wants a brand new SUV, after that they should be making plans to move to a new home, then the children must be transferred to better schools(more expensive private ones) and not to forget, she hasn’t had her skin treated for a long time, a visit to the blue lagoon would be a good choice, or a natural hot spring, a spa or whatever, she wants her hair and nails taken care of by the best artisans in the country…….

His father tells him he needs a new truck, his old one is worn out and needed a brand new one to keep his business going. His mother wants her vacant jaws replaced with some golden teeth, his friends, some neighbours and relatives come in with uncountable requests, and all of them being problems of money. His kids throw away their old toys and demand more expensive ones. At school they begin to speak rudely to others, "our Dad is filthy rich, he can buy us anything we want, please try not to mess with our family," they say to their classmates, and to the teachers they say, "why is it that you are not teaching well, don’t you know that it's my father’s money that’s sustaining you around here, please try to improve your performance?" they don’t attend class neither do they do homework, when teachers advise them to change their character or else suffer in the future as a result of joblessness, they reply, " we can go anywhere we want anytime we want with whomever we want, in fact this schooling is just another piece of burden to us, we should be somewhere now having a good time, they break up things on the streets on their way home, “you are a nobody to us." they say.

The young man's new wealth as he had hoped would bring him great joy and comfort has instead brought chaos upon his family, every member of the family all of a sudden becomes arrogant and disrespectful. Even little Angela barely a year old is as stubborn as ever.

Glittering-12-A newly found success.

Once a man from a humble background finds enrichment. Life turns over him in such a swift way he cannot comprehend, he wonders why people are avoiding him unlike what they used to do.

His relatives and former acquaintances begin to think he has gone far away from home so that he can enjoy all his money by himself, they say that his newly acquired wealth has made him greedy, mean, antisocial, covetous, that’s why he has bought a house far away from where people live, he is separating himself from the community which once supported him and where he came from, the young man on the other hand thinks that his family and friends are avoiding him because they envy his newly acquired success, " are they jealous of me?" He asks himself, right? ‘’That’s why no one ever tries to visit me”. The families maimed by such thoughts draws further and further apart, each part trying to figure out what the others thinks of them.

It's not the money itself that stress up their new owner, it’s the pressures that arise from others after you have acquired your significant fortune that troubles most.

A decade ago, economic reforms came to the city of Tailmenn. Suddenly nearly everyone in the neighbourhood is wealthy, showing off their bling bling, such an arrogant behaviour drives the entire town into mad rush for shinnies, jewels, automobiles etc., once a quiet charismatic village turns into a disillusioned city square, no one ever pays attention to the other, each community member has their needs addressed, they organise themselves into groups, to conduct raids upon other cities.

Glittering-13-class misquote.

The rich don’t like being called rich while the poor don’t like being called poor, but like to be referred to the exact opposite, if you grow extremely wealthy you will get tired of being called rich, if you become poor you start to believe that being synonymous with that name as an insult. When you call a needy person poor, he/she will be angry at you, as they would often say, "I was once a rich fellow, it's just that I became unfortunate one day and lost everything I owned, and was forced onto the streets, soon this misery will be over, and I believe so. I got into some bad luck and couldn’t find a way out. I do not wish to remain like this for too long. Soon I may be able to pick up my old tracks again."

A passer-by woke a homeless man who was sleeping on the street benches to hand him some food, "hey poor guy, have some warm bread," he said. The man uncovered his head and leaned forward to see who was speaking to him, "who are you calling poor? I am not poor!’’ He exclaimed. ‘’Can't you see that I am a luckless guy who has failed to find a job?" then as he pointed at the pigeons that were pecking down near his bench, he said, "those are the poor guys, if you want to offer some food, you should give it to them, I am sure they are going to enjoy your stale dry bread, because I am not going to touch it," then he covered his head and went back to sleep.

When you call the wealthy "rich fellows," it sounds somehow threatening, hateful and envious, it makes it appear as if you are about to say or do something that might cause harm to them. And no one wants to find themselves in such a scenario, when you call the poor as poor, it appears that your references are a proof that you look down upon them indeed, they know that they are poor, and are struggling very hard to get out of it, or simply get an acceptance from the society just the way they are, they do not need to be constantly reminded of their present harsh living conditions. Anyone either rich or poor is yearning for an acceptance from the people around them, those who call them by their status tittles, they will definitely avoid for it’s a clear sign of rejection. "Why do you keep calling me rich? Is it because you greatly desire my wealth or do you say so that I can give you something in return?" as some would say.

Glittering-14-ill wealth.

As the old adage goes money acquired through wrong means, will always be used in the wrong means, though most of those poor fellows hope to do something useful with it, it often ends up being spent in an extravagant dangerous lifestyle, it’s quickly squandered away, the speed at which it came is the speed at which it goes. They thought they could keep something they didn’t work for. A fellow who had sweat much, had gone through a great deal of trouble to gain his flimsy salary will try to spend it in the wisest ways possible. He will clench his few coins closely to his heart, because for now they have become a part of him. He remembers vividly all the hardship he had gone through just to get a day's meal, he simply can't imagine facing the same trouble once more if he were to lose them.

Have you ever heard of someone who robbed a bank and used that money to build an orphanage, or someone who coned an elderly person of their pensions and used those funds to pay for the sick? Such a thing would never happen in a million years, if it does then it could just be a matter of coincidence, if only circumstances forced them to, otherwise the nature of their new skills would have directed them somewhere else, how does someone knowingly enjoy wealth whose source is mired with bloodshed?

Only their children who don’t always know of their parents’ whereabouts can have a comforting time around them, since they are ignorant of the things that go on in the world, they do not have to share any of their parents' concerns.

There is a mysterious way in which a silver coins rejects its new master and walks away from his sight as soon as he lowers his guard, "I do not belong to you, or I should not stay with you here any longer." it says and then walks on to someone else. The silver coin knows its true master.

What's stronger than the need to get more cash? Well, it’s the desire to spend it, you just can't hold it in your hands, and it won't last a day either.

Even though they might claim they are stealing from the rich and giving it to the poor, things still don’t work that way, first and foremost two wrongs do not make a right, secondly, they are giving away something that does not belong to them, you have to rightfully acquire & possess an item before one can hand it over to someone else as a gift.

Glittering-15-worth a dime.

Who said that human lives should be valued in terms of money, "so you are worth nothing more than a piece of paper? Uh?"

The evaluation of people's lives in terms of notes and coins has reduced the value of human beings to that of a mere object. When people look at a tycoon pass by, they see a walking money bag, in most cases people would not dare say hello to them.

Glittering-16-lose your cash lose your friends.

If it’s money that made them your friends, now you have lost everything its most unlikely you are going to see them very soon. Not until you regain your wealth, that’s the only thing that’s going to bring them back. The ones that stay longer are those that became friends because of some different reasons other than the attraction of riches, maybe a similarity in hobby, same interests, or share a career path.

"I can't believe that it's you jerry that’s hurting me this bad," says Tim, "let it be someone else and not you, all these years you have been by my side pinching every little pennies from my hands. And have profited greatly from it. Now that I have lost everything you have turned out to be richer than I am, you come back to ridicule me, shouldn’t you at least leave me in peace?"

When you lose your fortune those who come to your aid are those who never asked anything from you, those who speak kind words to you are those who never praised you for giving them presents, and those who will feel the most remorse are those that have once been in the exact similar situation you have been in. for the majority of the birds that flew away never coming back, their attraction a big shoal, endless supply of fish which kept them around is now gone forever, its therefore no use wasting time around you when they should be on their way seeking their fortune elsewhere.

Glittering-17-still at home.

Staying connected to family and community still remains significant even after they have gone past retirement age. Some people bundled up piles of notes into sacs and said to their family, "bye bye" then travelled abroad. Upon their arrival a swarm of ravens swooped down from the skies, snatched their luggage and flew away with it, they came back home weeping and empty handed. All the wealth we had worked for in our lives, all the cash we slaved for was snatched away from us by some devils on wings. What do we do now, we are old and weak, and we cannot go to the garage to clean greasy gears or sooty factory chimneys. What are we going to do now?

I know of people who have gone past retirement age yet they still help the community in many ways.

Glittering-18-New goods bring new foes.

I can't believe my companions left me because I bought myself a new car. If they really were friends in the first place, they won't be jealous of me. Who sent them away, is it me, was it the automobile, or was it their own envy that led them to their departure from my neighbourhood? “So, all this time you had a lot of money while you chose to keep it secret from us? Now you are flashing out on expensive lifestyle?” they ask.

My friends hated me after they received the news that I have instantly become a rich kid. They soon began to avoid me in public gatherings and stopped responding to my letters of invites, they agreed to meet me only on the condition that I would have something to give them because I grew rich in silence.

Sincerely there is a category of people who will hate you because you have amassed for yourself great quantities of wealth while they have not gained a dime.

It’s only after you have reached the top of the ladder that you begin to feel all these threats directed at you. You begin to feel yourself threatened by everyone. Though it’s easier to carry money today than it was in the olden days, imagine walking along with a hand sack full of coins while everyone else around you watches you keenly, knowing for sure you are carrying a lot of money inside your pouch, how dangerous that lifestyle was, today if someone steals my ATM card I don’t mind, as long as they don’t have the pin, they are never going to use it, it can be deactivated as soon as the holder notifies the bank and their safety re-assured.

Glittering-19-Union of Commons

Communal Poverty unites people, those from different backgrounds join hands to overcome a common problem while riches divide people even for families that once loved each other, their love grows cold, they begin to be suspicious of one another and secretly plot evil against one another. Poverty humbles, whereas wealth causes pride to grow within oneself.

The poor unite because they have a common problem, family bonds become stronger, more and more families join hands and form a vast network, family ties strengthen to their peaks.

In Bunie-town, the poor spend their evenings hours listening to proverbs and other words of encouragement to strengthen them, to give them hope that there is still hope while they toil for their survival, on the other hand, the rich spend their evening hours listening to financial reports just to make sure their wealth remains safe in their accounts.

Glittering-20-lost and found.

It is easy for the poor to adjust to a rich lifestyle with their newly acquired wealth but very difficult for the once rich to adjust their lives to fit that of the poor. Once used to the high-class merchandise, exotic foods, drinks and fashion, spacious homes, expensive subscriptions and much more lavish living.

When they suddenly lose their job, it's like the end of the world for them. It looks like they have been caught in a trap from which there is no escape, jobs and careers as they have been temporary, nothing in the world seems to be permanent.

Adjusting to low expenditure lifestyle after an economic meltdown when everything simply vanished within a flash of a second is quite heart-breaking, after all those years of being used to luxurious lifestyle.

Dangerous thoughts begin to creep in. unless they get comforting guidance, they might end up causing harm unto themselves.

Glittering-21-The yacht still remains a poor man's dream vessel.

Many people dream of owning a yacht someday, even if it’s just a simple boat, there are people who save for so many years during their career so that when it comes time for retirement, they get to do it in style, they wish to have a vessel that can take them around the world in the duration of their peaceful retirement, travelling while enjoying themselves. Even though they are meant for travelling across the oceans, most yachts are rarely used for this purpose. they are instead used to cruise shallow waters at slow speeds, most yachts are docked at ports almost all year round, and when being enjoyed, they sail through the lagoons at a leisurely speed.

A small yacht can cost you a few million dollars to acquire and millions more just to keep it maintained. While that may sound small, a million dollars is out of the reach of many working-class citizens, some people will never make a million dollars in their lives even after working for many decades, the mega yachts are for the exclusive elites commonly called the billionaires, the price of some mega yachts can be equal to or more expensive than the GDP of some small countries. So, do you continue dreaming that you are going to own a yacht someday?

Few people have sat down to question the social media trends pushing this type of indulgence and debauchery onto our faces, some crazy folks keep sharing photos on social media about the places they have been to and the yachts they have been on, or purportedly claim to own. Young people have therefore been led to think that owning a yacht or simply living the yacht lifestyle is the ultimate luxury, and should people see them on one cruising some lagoons, then they shall be led to think they are filthy rich which is not the case at all.

Yachting is a crazy fake lifestyle that is getting out of control. Ordinary people from the middle class are being persuaded and sometimes tricked into buying boats that they might never use in their lifetime. They spend their hard-earned money on some worthless peace of trash. I know the yacht building and charter companies will hate me for talking this way, but that’s the blunt truth. Who needs a yacht? For what? When people are barely struggling to pay their bills and mortgage, they are already planning to acquire a luxury boat.

A senior couple once decided to explore the world after their retirement, they blessed their married children and sent them off to live lives of their own, they spent half of their retirement savings on a three-bedroom home and used the other half to get a medium-size luxury boat. They then docked their boat at a port in a town on the east coast. A few months later, Hurricane Katrina showed up uninvited, she squashed everything that was docked on the coast and left nothing behind but a pile of trash. The couple was lucky to survive the encounter, after the storm passed, they used the little money they had left to repair their badly damaged home. A couple of months down the line they were struggling to pay utility bills, their children were many miles away with families of their own and were not in a position to offer them any kind of support.

They had thought they would live a happy and peaceful retirement but ended up with the bitterness and uncertainties they had during their working lives. Their suffering was partly attributed to their poor decision to spend their lifetime worth of earnings on a luxury boat. A lot of their friends and some of their own children had warned them against the decision of buying that boat, they had been advised to instead put the money in a hedge fund or some small business but stubbornly refused to listen. They claim they were too old to venture into any kind of new business or spend the rest of their days watching the stock market, it was a responsibility too much to bear, they believed. Had they known better they would have gone for stocks, even though stock can lose a significant value, it’s rare for investors to lose a hundred percent of their stocks worth of value during a market crash, another safer option they had rejected was to put their savings in a government bond. The amount of loss they would have received should there be a shakeup in the market could have been less than what Violent Katrina did to them.

A significant proportion of the young people have been made to believe that living high life on the seas is the ultimate climax for success. They want to make as much money as possible in their youth and then spend that cruising the world's oceans on a luxury boat. Do these youngsters really know the things that go on in Mega Yachts? Have they been to one or are they holding onto the so-called fabulous tales told to them by others? A lot of bad things happen inside those shiny boats, things that I would not mention here, they should do their own research and find out what those things are. They need to keep in mind that you don’t need to own a luxury boat in order to be seen as successful or treated with respect by society. Luxury items such as these will not improve your social status, they will only add to your list of troubles and miseries. You should know that a boat is one of the most expensive things to keep. It costs an estimated one-tenth of the purchasing price to maintain the boat annually, so imagine paying ten percent of your luxury toy's price each year just to keep it in good working condition.

A boat is not like a car you keep in your garage unused for years but once you decide to take it on the road for a spin it’s still brand new and powerful as the day you bought it straight from the assembly line. Luxury sports cars kept in showrooms require almost zero maintenance while boats docked in a port need to be constantly maintained even if you are not using them yourself. It’s such a nightmare that many people want to throw themselves into.

If you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth and in possession of mountains of disposable cash, then you can throw that onto a yacht, you are an excellent candidate for this kind of lifestyle. What better thing to do out there than to dump a small portion of your gigantic inheritance into the sea? If your beloved parents left you with tons of gold bullion in your family home, then there would be no harm done if you throw a few dozen of those bullions into a shallow lagoon. Throw them in the open ocean where everyone can see you, a few desperate fishermen may spot them and scoop them up in their fishing nets. Your extravagance may change someone else' life. It is what the society needs, the rich folk being generous with their wealth is what our community wants. What annoys me so much is when the Yachting industry heavily markets its expensive products to the middle class and the poor. When they persuade people to spend their hard-earned cash on worthless things and in turn drives them into poverty or crippling debt, is a sad tale we should not be quiet about.

Glittering-22- love for luxury.

♩♪

Let’s go out to the blue lagoons

Let's feel the cool breeze of the sea descend upon us

We shall dry ourselves out in the sun like coconuts

And take a hot bath in the eternal springs of warm water

On the soft white sand beaches we shall stroll together

A bone fire we shall make for ourselves,

And gather around it to make merry

Our youngsters will surf the waves,

And the kids build sand castles,

What a freedom we have

What a joy we have forsaken

Work work work harder

But also remember

You need some fun toooooo…..

♫♬

Feeling exhausted from work? Well these are the kinds of words you probably hear from your local beach band reminding you to take some time off on some beautiful island place, to stop working like a robot, at least for the time being go a little easier with yourself, luxurious lifestyle has become such a common phenomenon in such a way that those who refuse to take that kind of lifestyle almost face hostile rejection from others, work a little, have fun, feel free and enjoy yourself to the fullest are the common mottos uttered in the street corners of many metropolises.

Glittering-23-selfish families.

There is an ideology that is being pushed hard upon everyone that an ideal family should be a man, a woman and two children, a boy and a girl, anything more than that is an excess and must be gotten rid of. And whoever brings in a homeless relative into his house, a brother, sister, uncle or aunt is committing a cardinal sin. More and more people are being taught to believe that the other members of your extended family are no use to your immediate needs, they are simply an extra burden, I got to believe that at some point in my life. These are a bunch of guys who call themselves the wise and the educated, they know very well how a family should be like, I wonder why they don’t have families of their own so they want everyone to be selfish and isolated just the way they are. I know they have safe jobs and a lot of money in their bank accounts, but they have to remember that no matter how much you own, there always comes a time when the needs of the needy are fulfilled and the rich and the mighty get to lose their fortunes. So, no one should try to stop or lecture me when they see me keeping one or two members of my extended family in my home. If you don’t like people why don’t keep it to yourself, why do you go out preaching to others to do the same?

Because of this ill-conceived propaganda, all families are now confining themselves in solitary life.

A short while ago you saw people in photos with their huge extended families, the people are so many in the photo shoot that some members are partly or wholly cut off from the cameras area of view, away into the background, you see members so cosy and happy with one another clearly indicated by their broadened smiles on their faces, such photos don’t exist anymore, you see a family with members much less than a half dozen, and some characters probably torn away, you see them posing next to a golden castle,

This is what our families of today have become like, more and more of us, and less and less of others, is it true that the richer a person becomes the less they are able to give.

The poorest give the most while the richest give the least, even though the rich man may offer a bag full of gold coins as a gift, the poor mans present is still more valuable because what they have offered cannot be valued in terms of money, it's absolutely priceless.

We went to a foreign land and landed on a beachfront, our ship got stuck in the sand and we could not travel back to our country in time, we were stranded on a foreign soil for days, as we went into the neighbourhoods to look for shelter as we waited for aid to arrive.

We were surprised to find out that the people who welcomed us are those who had no real homes, they shared with us the little food they had earned through their long days struggle, they let us use the only bed they had while they themselves slept on the floor, the poor gave us the most, even though they had no money, they offered us their most valuable gifts which were their time, care, love and attention, nothing was more valuable than that.

In the past few years, we have been experiencing a dramatic change in culture and society at large, The influence of other civilizations like Egypt, Greece and Persia have changed the modern world considerably, apart from Rome being a fore standing force, other empires like Sumerians, Mesopotamia, Greeks and Persians have also contributed much to the development of our modern-day culture.

If the people of the ancient past who lived on ancestral lands in communal families would come alive today, and live in one of our cities, then, they would certainly conclude that the people of today are selfish heartless monstrous beasts, not willing to share a penny with thy brother, they could never understand how complex our societies have become, and the effects it has had on social norms and family life.

Property although very little at the time was communally owned, if one person had to find a source of food somewhere, then it had to be shared by everyone around the homestead, this increases their chances of survival, if not done likewise, then many individuals might starve, and the entire community wiped out.

As some people call it wealthy culture, or culture of the wise and educated, if things were to be dug deeper, then you'd notice that, it has a very long History, it was first lived by the Romans of ancient past, driven by three principles, freedom, Prosperity and wealth, laws of the land twist, becoming more inclined towards favoring the wealthy.

Just as the romans lived, so are the people of today, there is nothing new under the sun, it is called the Roman Culture, the culture of Civilization, any nation in the world that is ready accept civilization, Development of cities and industrial revolution will also have to accept the philosophical transformation of it citizens, freedom, prosperity and exceeding wealth, It is the Roman Culture of the ages we are experiencing today.

Glittering-24-enjoying my sweat.

When you ask people who conduct wild parties why they are acting that way, an obvious reply is, "I am enjoying the fruits of my labour, I worked very hard to reach this standard, why won't I celebrate? Don’t prevent others from enjoying their money if you don’t have any to suit yourself." if you were to tell them, you know that farmers don’t eat all the food they grow, and bakers don’t eat all the bread they bake, are you surely going to spend every single dime of your earnings on entertainment? They insist saying that. "I am simply enjoying my money, my hard-earned cash, please mind you own business." But not all rich folks are flashing off their wealth you know.

Should luxury be treated as a transgression? Is luxury a crime? What then do you want? What are you insinuating when you tell me these nasty stories of yours?

This is what happens when people get too much freedom and wealth, they forget where they came from, and indulge themselves in pleasures of unimaginable proportions, it can happen to anyone, any community, any society no matter their religious or cultural backgrounds, to act like the Romans of the past.

Those who said unto themselves, "I contributed a lot of money to this party, therefore I am going to make the most out of it" did end up drinking themselves nearly to death, you don’t have to benefit greatly from every venture you pursued, and some few losses can be stomached though.

All this is by no doubt could be a result of our society having too much money, time and freedom?

Luxury is excellent with conscience; luxury is not that all evil and unacceptable but should be conducted/allowed with a bit of conscience.

Glittering-25- bare-backs in a naturist town

A short while ago I visited a town when I was at once shocked beyond belief the moment I set foot on this little town, everyone young and old was going about their daily lives in full nude, including the mayor did not have the smallest concealing clothing, "what in the world is this!" I exclaimed to my colleagues, never before did I know that such a town exists, there is no experience in your life more disgusting that to visit a nudists town. They all look confident in their styles they didn’t care who was watching, who was a stranger and who was a resident. A time is soon coming when full nudity shall be regarded as fashion, and bareness called style.

Like the king and his new clothes, like the tales in the old stories, he thought that he was wearing the best clothes in town, little did he know that the tailors had fooled him, they said to him that your clothes are so fashionable that no one could see them, they charged him huge amounts of gold coins without giving him anything in return,

Then in a short period of time everyone admires it saying I am going to get that piece of outfit myself, soon everyone in the city is wearing the same style, the king calls out to the guards, “hey you mongrels! Get over here”, they then come running very fast, with their arsenals dangling from side to side, left and right like a church bells. Suddenly everybody loves the new clothes, it's now high in the summer and no one needs worm clothing, the new outfits look best, they become the fashion of the town.

The poor go about bare skin because they can't afford to buy clothes, the rich walk naked because they are tired of wearing clothes, so both the rich and the poor go about bareback on these countryside villages.

This is the fashioned moral debasement of our modern times

We shall soon dwell in a nudist planet

Glittering-26- welcome to my HoliGanza.

I once went into a guest house, where I started to marvel at the magnificent building enclosed in a beautiful garden, the house floors were tiled with precious stones, the pillars were cast with the purest gold and silver, from the walls hang the most expensive paintings, the windows are made of clear transparent glass and the roofs hang dazzling bright lamps, the rooms were so many and the house so large that a first time visitor would easily get lost finding their way through, there were also lots of pools, many pools of water were outside the house and also within the compound, there were pools inside the living room and even the bedroom there was a pool, one visitor asked, "are these pools for cooling oneself or are you planning to keep fish in them?" another said, "it's like you get up from bed in the morning and jump into a pool like a toad and soak your skin in water first before you attend to other daily activities, look you are surrounded by water, everywhere there are pools of water though this is a landlocked country with miles of arid landscape around. What kind of luxury is this? Are they aquatic comforts?"

There was also a secret room where about a half dozen people sit inside a large cooking pot, workers fill the pot with water till It reaches their chest, they place coals underneath it which they light and the water inside the pot begins to boil. The guys stretch out their arms outwards and drop their heads backwards as they scream in exhilaration, “whoo…..ha! ha! ha! ha! This is great." they enjoy the warmth of the waters for a while till when it becomes too hot to bear, they take one leap and dive into another pot, as their fun time continues. I have never seen before humans boiling themselves in a pot, don’t they know that they are going to be burned? Anyway, that doesn’t matter for now, all is still considered fun.

When you observe this guy carefully it looks like he is on holiday all the time, week after week, month after month all year round?

The story of this guy is that of rags to riches, it was therefore no surprise to us seeing him act the way he did. His wife she once dressed like a peasant now she is dazzling with jewels. "Hope you are not wearing on your neck any blood diamonds," some folk said to her.

END OF GLITTERING.

##

Final Clause

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Footnotes.

My most used/favourite stylistic features

- Sharp contrast

- Heavy metaphor

- Extravagant exaggeration.

The reference to masculine characters In the above stories is not a biased motive to discriminate against any gender, it's just for the purposes of description, the authors repeated use of words such as he/him/man/king are just for the purposes of enchanting the narrative, if you feel offended by them then feel free to replace them with whatever words you choose as you read along, these pronouns are NOT put in place to intimidate, you can also contact the author directly and specify which part should changes be made to and to what particular effect, the author respects all readers and will not misrepresent members of any class, age, status or gender. All readers are precious.

I am trying to avoid the inconvenience of having to jump from one side of the group to another as it easily puts the readers off, jumping from side to side, back and forth, here and there is really irritating, take for instance it's better to say, "the king came out of his castle, called the knights and asked him to take him out on a ride through the royal forests and left his son in charge of the castle," than to say, "the king/queen came out of his/her castle, called the knight/knightess and asked him/her to take him/her out on a ride through the royal forest and left his/her son/daughter in charge of the castle"

Textual homogeneity- some aspects of the words, phrases and stories share lots of similarities with one another, the keen reader who repeatedly crosscheck between different tittles will definitely notice this trend, if characters are portrayed in such a sluggish manner that makes the text boring to the reader, then reader please remember to inform the author as soon as possible.

Cover image: Pussycat shows off his bling bling, theme by the Author