"That day, I was given the keys to one of the company cars and I headed out to make the delivery. The woman's name on the envelope was familiar to me; she belonged to a very wealthy, a very prominent family. I was wide-eyed driving through the Highland Park neighborhood, just taking it all in. Long driveways. Huge homes.
"When I found the address, I was pretty sure I didn’t belong in the driveway, so I parked on the street and went to the front door. The woman who answered obviously worked there. She invited me in and led me to the living room. The living room was large - very large. It was as big as our family’s entire house! Back in Pleasant Grove, our living room was simple, with a couch and my dad’s recliner. But here there were groupings of tables, chairs, lamps, and couches all over the place; it was just that kind of house. There was a glass wall across the entire back of the room, and beyond that a beautiful view of the pool and gardens. It was really impressive.
"I continued following the woman who greeted me at the door until we reached the end of the long living room. As we approached a woman who was sitting alone, the person leading me announced that the courier had arrived. The woman was hunched over in one of the chairs, all drawn into herself. In fact, I almost didn’t see her at first. She took the envelope, removed the papers, and slowly took out a pen and signed them while I stood looking around at all the furnishings. I knew I probably wouldn’t have a chance to see anything like this again. But as I waited, something was said that made me realize that the documents this woman was signing were part of a divorce settlement. I looked at her face, and it was so sad. She stuffed everything back in the envelope, handed it to me, and I was escorted out the front door.
"As I walked away that day, I saw the world with different eyes. This wealth didn’t mean anything anymore. That night when I got home to the familiar sights and sounds of the three bedroom, one-bathroom house I shared with my parents and my brother, it looked awfully good to me. No, there was no spacious living room or a pool in the back. However, my memory of most evenings is that of my mother cooking supper in the small kitchen where all of us would eat together as soon as my daddy came home from work. We were rich in a way that I had never realized before.”