Griffin Speaks

"HOW I BECAME A MILLIONAIRE"

My wife, Debra informed me one night after dinner that she wanted to be a millionaire. I asked her to sit down for a moment because I had something to tell her. "Darling," I said, "You are already a millionaire. In fact, we are multimillionaires."  She could not believe her ears. She thought that I had completely lost my mind. "Somebody please call 911," she said. "How can you possibly expect me to believe that we are that wealthy?" she asked. "Well," I said, "Let me explain!"

I took out a sheet of paper and wrote down the figures. I wrote down the amount of our annual household income. She agreed with the figure before her eyes. I then wrote down the number of millions that we would have to invest in a 4% interest-bearing savings account to earn our annual household income. She agreed. "You see darling, We are multimillionaires! It's all in the way you look at it."

Upon learning about our new financial status, she immediately wanted to leave Haardt Estates and move to Wynlakes. Of course, I refused to agree to such nonsense, especially since I believe Haardt Estates is one of the best neighborhoods in Montgomery. I pointed out to Debra that we had some of the greatest neighbors in the city. We probably have as many black millionaires as Wynlakes. Especially with the way I decide how one becomes a millionaire.

In our neighborhood we have some legendary people: EDWARD STEVENS (Atlanta Constitution Columnist, Cynthia Tucker's uncle); Rev. Al Dixon, two Federal Judges; Dr. Booker Whatley (the mentor to the owner of Dominos Pizza), Ada Kate Morgan; Mable Haardt (one of the wealthiest people in America); Irene Williams (renowned school administrator and educator). Why would anyone want to leave such company of fine folks? I struck a deal with my wife. I told her that if she would agree to remain in Haardt Estates I would agree to the purchase of a new Lincoln Navigator. She quickly purchased the vehicle and I quickly removed the "FOR SALE" sign out of the front yard. The wife and kids are riding high. You can see them smiling blocks away until its time to gas up the vehicle.

As for me, I don't require material things to make me feel wealthy or happy. I know the truth about wealth. Did you know that almost everyone in America is wealthy when you compare Americans with other people in the world?

If you can eat a meal everyday, put clothes on your back, keep a roof above your head and a place to sleep, you are wealthier than 75% of the world's population. If you have money stashed away in a bank, wallet or can, you are in the top 8% of the world's wealthy. I obtained those statistics from a good friend named Syrone Octson. He is also a millionaire.

When Syrone moved from Birminham to Montgomery he started calling himself Sy. Sy married into one of Montgomery's wealthiest black families. Roll call at their breakfast table is like roll call at Baptist Hospital. (A family of Doctors). He sends his three kids to a private school. The school's parking lot look like a Mercedes dealership. If you pass by Sy's home on any given day it looks like "GONE WITH THE WIND!" He employs not one white housekeeper, but two. I don't know how much he pays them, but they are some happy looking white folks. Sy's wife is one of the leading physicians in Montgomery. She works for the fun of it. Sy is from Bullock County, where it looks like "THE WIND DONE GONE," but he managed to escape. He figured out the sure way to become a millionaire. He married one!

In the next Montgomery-Tuskegee Times I will discus the "MOREHOUSE MYSTIQUE". GREG GRIFFIN can be reached at www.greggriffin.com