Image by Tracy Lundgren from Pixabay
“See, you are really blessed because your grandfather is a billionaire, but not a cruel old man – but some of these middle-aged and early senior billionaires from around here are really wilding out.”
Eleven-year-old Eleanor and ten-year-old Andrew Ludlow were listening to some national news with their friend eleven-year-old Velma Trent on the radio, and Andrew had just given his reaction to some of that news.
“I don't even understand that,” Velma said. “A billion is a thousand millions – more than enough money not to get caught up on some dumb stuff internationally. I mean, get caught up on dumb stuff at home, but not somewhere that they don't even like Americans.”
“Yeah, but, even at home, you can't buy your way out of being dumb – it's just that you have a right to a fair trial here, in theory,” Eleanor said.
“Well, Pop-Pop was saying that usually, billionaires try to buy their way out of criminal stuff, and that's why when they finally do get caught up, they really get caught up,” Velma said.
“Yeah, I would call facing the death penalty as a billionaire really getting caught up,” Eleanor said. “It kind of makes you wonder what in the world has been going on in Lofton County that we have so many billionaires and high millionaires, and quite a few that aren't smart.”
“Well, it's like this,” Velma said. “Lofton County kept Black people under Jim Crow an extra nine years. That's almost a decade. Looked at from my people's perspective, that's terrible: nine more years of segregation, of being overworked and underpaid and murdered for trying to change things. 1974 is not even 50 years ago to 2020, so, there's that – but on the other side, we never think about what was terrible for those of y'all's people who were into all that. That's nine more years of getting richer by being cruel, and of thumbing the nose at the law – that's nine more years of getting into habits that the second you aren't around here, other people are like, 'No way,' and then you get caught up.”
Andrew and Eleanor looked at each other.
“You know, I was up late last night,” Andrew said, “and Cousin Harry was on the phone in the car in the garage explaining all this to someone – he said you can keep on doing wrong for only so long, only mocking God for so long, before God has you find out He won't be mocked.”
“And sometimes He doesn't even come Himself, but will let you get caught up by poor folks in a country you look down on just to show you that your money doesn't make you any better,” Velma said.
“Yeah, because you know this situation has got to burn,” Eleanor said.
“That's not what I would be worried about in countries like that,” Andrew said. “I was reading in National Geographic about why their photographers really have to work hard to get clearance to film, and it's because you don't want to have your whole crew go to jail or the ones not in jail get put out of the country because in some countries, they don't have to feed you in jail.”
The three children looked at each other, and all three just started shaking their heads.
“Both of those guys are in jail, and there is no Uber Eats anywhere around,” Eleanor said.
“Not that they have their phones anyway,” Andrew said.
“Well, like my Stepforth grandmother says,” Velma said, “air pudding and hobo cocktail are available to everyone.”
“Not the kind of diet a billionaire wants to go on, but, like all our grandparents say,” Eleanor said, “mess around and find out.”
“Ain't it the truth,” Velma's eight-year-old sister Gracie said, bringing her and Velma's Trent grandmother's favorite saying into the mix.