[pieceofthepuzzle]

Life is finite, for everyone. At least for now, money doesn’t change that.

On another note, I remember visiting a royal medieval Castle in England, seeing the throne room, and thinking how much worse the kings had it back then than the life the average person lives today.

[Vince Ferrer]

I had the same experience at an exhibit of a pharaoh. First you're impressed at a solid gold comb, but then, its just a comb. He actually lived a very ordinary life compared to us. And don't even get started about communications and travel. Even up to the 1950s or so a long distance call was expensive and rare. People used to drive to the national park for a vacation. Now it is common to pop over to China. We also take for granted that fruits and vegetables can be found fresh in every grocery store. The only seasonality is due to foods associated with holidays like watermelon for July 4 and pumpkins for Halloween.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I remember visiting a royal medieval Castle in England, seeing the throne room, and thinking how much worse the kings had it back then than the life the average person lives today.

Puts me in mind of the statement that was made about a decade ago: When you factor in all the advances in medicine, everything made out of plastic, everything that runs on electricity or gasoline, and jet airliners that Queen Victoria (1820-1901) did not have, an American secretary has it better than Victoria did.

By the way, the same comparison would hold between an American secretary now and a slaveowner in the antebellum South.