Corallis Gregory
Corallis Gregory learned firsthand the cliché that no matter how much money you have, no one can buy happiness.
A long time ago, my mother was friends with a man who had just about everything: a big house, five cars, a boat, you name it. Except, as the cliché goes, he didn’t have what money can’t buy: happiness.
When he was around, I tried to ignore him. He was always very nasty. One time he just sat down in a chair in the grocery store and watched my mom buy his food.
It was out of the kindness of my mother’s heart that she was friends with him. She felt sorry for him, like the way someone feels for a stray dog. And he really was lost in life — he wasn’t married and he said no one in his family ever spoke with him. My mother says his money was controlling him and he worshipped his bank account.
I had no sympathy for the man. He always acted as if being rich gave him an excuse to be a jerk. Eventually, even my mother gave up trying to help him.
That experience stuck with me over the years. My ambitions have nothing to do with money. When I grow up, I want to be an engineer in the military. And I know I will be rich in friends.
