The wealthy acquire second homes, fancy cars, museum-quality art, and this season’s clothing and accessories. They hire assistants, house managers, gardeners, maids, drivers, nannies, and tutors – all in an effort to ensure they’ll have time to enjoy these possessions, and time to spend with loved ones. For even when money is no object, time remains elusive. In today’s frenetic, fast-paced world, time is the ultimate luxury.
Before Uber, there was “Jitney.” And jitneys. Few among us would have predicted that the one would lead inexorably to the other, but great fiction can achieve a level of prescience that we mere mortals can only wonder at.
Where should you take the object of your affection on your first date? This is a vexing question that has been wrestled with for centuries.
I’m standing in front of the windows at Bergdorf’s and I’m transported. I do this every time I can when in New York. Inside, I have a lively exchange with a salesperson about the price of the most fantastic silk brocade coat I’ve ever seen (let’s be fair, no names). I look around and notice a woman angrily snatching at a dress on the rack, frowning and comparing it rather unfavorably to her great grandmother’s couture dress. Another is checking for size 0s and exuding body anxiety. A third woman with an edgy sequin T-shirt, sky blue hair, and a “strictly business” arrogance is clearly shopping as her boss’s surrogate abusive consumer. What is their problem? The whole place is GORGEOUS! Can’t say it isn’t luxurious. So why aren’t more customers and salespeople having a yumilicious time?
What could be more difficult than finding the perfect restaurant for a first date? Perhaps getting the date in the first place. But surely after that, nailing the choice of location is a Gordian knot of epic proportions. After all, this could be your future on the line. This person could be The One. It would be really good to get this right. You want a great story for your future offspring, yes? No pressure. It’s just potentially Your Whole Life we’re talking about.
