<p>Just got another Dinner for two invitation at locally well known place. Had another one about a week ago from a Mercede dealer for a test drive event with nice gift promised; one from a wine tasting event, etc. </p>
<p>Are they just mailing these to everyone in particular zip code. We are dirt poor (relatively speaking) living in a fairly high price area. Paying two tuition bills, we could hardly afford to buy anything other than food. </p>
<p>Why are they sending these to us? Is this the same as college mailings to all HS seniors?</p>
<p>Last week, First Friday of the Month, our local grocery had three tables of wine (5 each, 1 table locally produced, 1 table South American, and table of branded Washington) and a table of beer (4). Free. Today, the store will have possibly 2 tables of wine, because it’s fall season and wine in big seller in the fall.</p>
<p>DadII -You have outdone yourself with this one. Someone please pass the barf bag.
And exactly what kind of spanking new car did you buy recently??? Oh wait-- heavens, its getting old-its almost a year old by now.</p>
<p>DadII- You should accept the invitation. It would be a great place to talk to real live people about your unfortunate economic situation. Perhaps someone could offer some advice.</p>
<p>This is leaving me speechless. How can someone with an income of about $100K per year for the family describe themselves as “dirt poor” even "relatively speaking? </p>
<p>Sorry…no sympathy here.</p>
<p>BUT if you are REALLY dirt poor, view these as ways to get free food and entertainment.</p>
<p>DadII…It is hard to imagine a well educated person who would use the terminology of “dirt poor” to describe a family with an income in the range of $100,000. It demonstrates a level of ignorance to not know what the term “dirt poor” stands for. Now, you may live in an area where you are surrounded by people who have a load of money and much more than yourself (if you say so), but that still would not bring someone to describe your income level and lifestyle as “dirt poor.” Seriously now. Please go visit a neighborhood where people are poor. Dirt poor. There is no comparison. You said yourself that you have food on the table. Dirt poor people may be visiting a soup kitchen or getting charity from a food shelf. You are sending two kids to college (private ones, I assume) which dirt poor people rarely ever do. You also get substantial financial aid and are able to pay the difference. Many middle income people can’t even do that and must take out loans, or only consider state universities. Based on many of your posts, you have been able to take vacations, buy nice cars, and other non-essential items. You also say you live in an expensive area and someone who is poor couldn’t even attempt to live there.</p>
<p>Middle income is often considered in a range of $40,000-$65,000. You make more than this, quite a bit more, based on prior posts. You would be considered “upper middle class.” That is eons away from "dirt poor.‘’ A family with an income around $30,000 would be considered “low income.” I would consider a family of four making less than $24,000 to be poor. Now, if you want to talk “dirt poor,” go even lower. For an upper middle class person to refer to their family as “dirt poor,” comes across as shameful.</p>
<p>You may not make as much money as you wish (join the club) or as much as your neighbors in an expensive community ("keeping up with the “Joneses”), but you are insulting truly poor people to even remotely call yourself poor, not to mention “dirt poor!”</p>
<p>Yes, of course they are sending blanket invites to everyone in your zip code. You are able to live where rich folks live and are therefore way above the average family.</p>
<p>Has anyone in your family in the last few generations been actually been “dirt poor”? Did your parents actually live in the dirt?</p>
<p>My father can tell you about spending two years living in a barn (yes, mom, dad and the first five of the eventual seven kids lived in the barn of the farm owner - it was the depression and the farmer didn’t have housing for tenant farm hands) in central Texas as a tenant farmer, just in case you don’t know what “dirt poor” means.</p>
<p>“After all, we get lots of free entertainment right here, with ridiculously outrageous threads like this.”</p>
<p>Popcorn, anyone? I made a huge bowl - as soon as I saw a thread started by Dad II with jym commenting, I thought, “Here comes free Friday night entertainment!” :D</p>
<p>Do I remember correctly that the OP once discussed his new big screen TV and his choice of cruises? Apropo dinner conversation topics for the free meal at the dealership.</p>
<p>And BB and teriwtt,
Always happy to contribute to the entertainment of my peers. Couldn’t do it without our old friend here. I thank him again on behalf of all cc’ers. I hope in the OP’s final fly-by visit to this thread that may be made, our genuine appreciation is duly noted and we are not seen as
:D</p>