Conspicuous Consumption

I took B and her best friend to look at model homes today and could not believe the deals. Everything was decorated perfectly; from the ceramic tiled floors to the paintings on the wall. And, friends, all of this could be yours. Four thousand square feet in the cultural mecca of the Inland Empire. Huge bedrooms, great rooms, granite counter-tops, his and her walk-in closets. It can't get much better than that, can it? Oh, but wait, there's more. If you look closely in the picture you'll see the real selling point. It's the view. Is it nearby Mt. Baldy? No. Is it the valley? No. Is it rolling green hills? No. It's your next-door neighbor's window! And for the low price of $900,000 it could all be yours. Don't walk, run! Southern California is calling...

If we go on the way we have, the fault is our greed and if we are not willing to change, we will disappear from the face of the globe, to be replaced by the insect.
~ Jacques Cousteau