A Tale of Two Cities (from my youth)

  • Once when I was in elementary school my mom, brother and I were driving through a very affluent and prestigious neighborhood in Dallas, TX (Yep, I’m from there) known as Highland Park. It’s an older neighborhood with luxurious houses near the SMU campus that gives host to such names as Jerry Jones and George W. Bush. At the time, my dad was getting his masters and my mom taught for the Dallas Independent School District. We weren’t poor, but we weren’t well off by any means. We were probably somewhere in the lower middle class range and we lived in a nice but modest house in a nice but modest neighborhood.

    As we were driving through Highland Park I began dreaming of how awesome it would be to live in such luxurious houses and my daydreaming led me to mention this to my mom.

    “It would be really nice to live in a place like that, but you know, there are many people in the world who would consider our own house to be a castle.” replied my Mother with all due wisdom. I let it go at that point, not fully accepting her answer but figuring it was the best I would get.

    After thinking about it off and on for two days I approached my Mom again, this time with a different question.

    “Mom, you know those people who would think our house is a castle?” I asked.

    “Yes.”

    “Where do they live?”

    She hid a laugh behind her smile. “Well, there are a lot in Africa,” she replied.

    I nodded my head and wondered what it would take to get me in Africa in a house like ours, but she was right, there are a lot people in Africa who would consider our house a mansion. As it turns out, there are a lot of people just a couple miles away who would too.

    If you drive through Santa Ana you can’t help but notice them. The homeless walking the sidewalks or hanging around Civic Center. People whose definition of a good place to sleep is a larger cardboard box.

    Here in Southern California the difference seems even more pronounced, the pristine neighborhoods of Irvine, Newport Beach and the surrounding areas, bordered by the isolation of Santa Ana. There is nothing wrong with big houses and nice cities, I live in Irvine right now, but seeing the poverty of how some people live on a daily basis has really changed my perspective on things. I may still occasionally dream of living in a Victorian manor house or a town home by the sea, but it is a dream I can do without. A dream I have no real interest in pursuing because there are more important things in life. Things like helping those in need, enjoying what I have and maintaining a proper perspective. After all there are people in the world who would love to have what we have, and some of them aren’t so far away.

    Read more of Jeff’s musings at www.jeffersonjordan.com or follow on twitter at

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    April 1st, 2010 | jjordan | 1 Comment | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

About The Author

Jeff Jordan

I am a writer, blogger and general creative force. I’m part humorist, satirist and pop culture/movie reviewer but all nerd. I dabble in short stories and love comics, science fiction and fantasy. Additionally I enjoy writing for and promoting nonprofit groups. I am also the self proclaimed Czar of New Prussia, but only in my own mind.

One Response and Counting...

  • Scott Overpeck 04.01.2010

    Such a great post Jeff. You are the homie.

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