Thread by @davidfrum

For two years of our early married life, @DCrittenden1 and I lived in a Manhattan apartment owned by a successful psychiatrist. He kept his office on the ground floor of the same building. Hour after hour, limousines idled at his curb waiting for his patients to emerge. 1/x

I once asked the psychiatrist:

"You seem to specialize in treating rich and famous people. Do they present many different problems?"

He replied, "No, it's almost always some variant of the same problem. They feel like frauds on the inside." 2/x

I recall that exchange when I wonder why the wealthiest men in public life seem aggrieved, bitter, and resentful. You'd think they'd be enjoying their money on a tropical isle or in an Italian palazzo. But no ... they're MAD AS HELL - and they want the world to know it. 3/x

A parable that might help ... or maybe parable isn't the right word, since it's a true story. 4/x

My daughter Miranda was born in 1991. There was a recession that year, and it caused a big bust in the price of certain fancy wines. I bought a few bottles of major wines from the famous vintages of 1989 and 1990 to lay aside for later celebrations. 5/x

The recession of the early 1990s turned to recovery, then to the late 1990s boom. The price of my wines soared. They became too valuable to drink. I thought of selling them, but couldn't figure out how. So I saved them for later. And then later again. 6/x

I ended up giving most of the bottles away as gifts.

Last night, we were invited by dear friends here in Prince Edward County to a dinner to observe Miranda's birthday-that-wasn't. I brought one of the two remaining bottles for the occasion: a 1989 Cheval Blanc. 7/x

The bottle is notionally worth a lot of money. I removed it from its storage place, cradled it in the car, and entrusted it to the sommelier at the hotel where the dinner was to be. The cork disintegrated at a touch. The wine had turned to utter vinegar. 8/x

As I think of these men who ought to feel so grateful - instead raging and raving at those who have so much less reason for gratitude - I marvel at our human ability to convert happiness to misery. Open the fucking bottle, drink it now, and seize the joy while you can. END