Its Who You Know

The Madoffs have been making big news lately. You know them, he swindled billions of dollars from trusting investors, is whining that he can't stand it now that he's in jail and she's hoarding all her money saying it was hers and she had nothing to do with her husband's business.



Bull puckey, I say.



I don't doubt for one second that if I did even a fraction of what Mr. Madoff successfully pulled off I would have been thrown under the jail immediately, never to be heard from again. What he did was so far beyond criminal that the fact that he was allowed to remain in his penthouse apartment before he was formally charged and sent to jail just sickens me. Who did he know that allowed that situation to occur?



And, as for Mrs. Madoff. The lack of moral fiber in this woman is just beyond the pale! If I found out that my husband had pulled off this kind of stunt I would be cleaning out my bank accounts, selling everything I had to try and start making even minimal restitution to the victims. I would not be able to live with myself, surrounded by luxury, knowing that charities were folding, people were trying to return to the workforce and watching their life savings evaporate. Just go up in the smoke that was being blown in their faces.



I made that comment to my husband and he said I wouldn't do it if I'd been in on the whole time. That, too me, makes her actions even more reprehensible. You get married for the good, the bad, and the ugly. If my husband were in jail for something we both did, I'd have to go to. Again, I don't see how I could live with myself.



I guess it's easy to sit here, many miles and millions of dollars away from the situation, and voice an opinion. Rumor has it that you don't know how you'll actually respond to a situation until you're in it. We all like to think and hope that we would be the hero and save someone from a burning building but who really knows what you'll do when the flames are licking at your heels.



And, in truth, I don't want to find out. Not that I'm afraid of disappointing myself, but I just hope that I never find myself in the situation - of my making or someone else's - where someone's life or livelihood is at stake. I'm a bit of a Pollyanna and always want the best for everyone and spout rainbows and sunshine.



The real crux of the matter is that life IS about who you know. But not who you know that can get you out of situations. Who you associate with that will ensure you never find yourself in those circumstances.



Birds of a feather and all of that...