2007-07-11 - 9:37 a.m.
Life is my greatest muse. No matter what happens from one day to the next, life just keeps on happening and for some reason (maybe because I am in so deep now) it all seems so blinverted to me.
To wit...
My good friend Mike Z, who has been my bartender and friend for four years now (man I drink a lot), lost his job on Monday. It wasn't an epic blowout where he was fired and the bar stayed open. The freaking bar closed down too.
The owner, Bob McMahon, is of the social elite of Tucson. The rent at Metro Grill was outrageous and he made a good business decision to close up shop as opposed to taking a loss or breaking even every month. He made a poor people decision though by not giving any of his Metro Grill employees any notice that it was about to close. Mike Z shows up to work and not even the managers were able to look him in the eye.
I do try and sympathize with both sides. Mike is my friend and they did him wrong. The managers know it too because they have to be very small people to keep their jobs while 40-50 human beings, deemed by Bob to be lower than his mangers, were left out in the cold.
I see this and it just tells me that people come first. Bob has so much money that he could afford a small severance package for those he hurt so badly but since he doesn't have to do it, he will take the little bit of bad word of mouth (the Arizona Daily Star wrote a nice article about him since he pulls a lot of water here in Tucson) and come out rosy on the other side.
I hope to never have the type of success that Bob McMahon has because greed leads to isolation. Bob and his money are probably very happy and Mike Z is very scared at what the future holds. He heard the rumors but believed the managers (who did not look him in the eye) when they said it was going to work out.
In America, where five percent of the population has the bulk of the wealth, it is an oasis of greed. Those with money are the worst people in this country because for some reason they want more. Bob McMahon could change the world by putting people first but the people he really wants to impress live on that oasis of greed and would laugh at him for caring about those that are in a lower tax bracket.
I plan on never being a millionaire. Nine hundred grand is plenty of freaking money and the rest of it can make the world less hungry, less cold and maybe even lead to more harmony.
It's hard to tell because of the social elite that think having more money makes them more something. I don't know what it is because whatever Bob has, I don't want it.
I just want Metro Grill back with Mike Z and Angel behind the bar, Grant cooking in the kitchen, Tom and Lisa serving, Steve bussing the tables and those are just a few of the good folks that worked at Metro Grill that were given no notice and now they all need jobs.
People are so important yet we have made a false idol of money and we continue to make the same mistake every day. Not me though, I say we need to share and I put my money where my mouth is as I simply share my wealth with the people in my life that make my life special.
