My Brother Called Last Night to Tell Me He Just Bought an Apex Predator Car--a 2008 BMW M3 Coupe

My younger brother the successful entrepreneur called last night to tell me on his cell phone that he was currently driving his latest apex predator fantasy car--a white 2008 BMW M3 coupe with bamboo leather, no less. He got the 6-speed manual for maximum thrill and masculinity. The car, which allows its lucky owner to knock his macrocephalic nuts around town, goes for a measly $75,000 and my modest living doesn't allow me, a car lover by my own right, to entertain acquiring such a Top-of-the-Food-Chain Vehicle. I am fated to live in my brother's shadow. I should start a support group for those who have rich siblings and live in the penumbra of mediocrity and are fated to languish in their own OBSCURITY ("Obscurity Knocks," Trashcan Sinatras) .

Comments

[Ed S.]

Cars are merely penis extenders. Any clown with a credit line can get one. I suggest you re-watch "Amadeus" this weekend for a true lesson in mediocrity vs. excellence.

[Jeff McMahon]

Great analogy. I saw that film 20 years ago or so. A great drama of a man seething with envy. A moral lesson to be learned for sure.

[Tom Welch]

Greed, speed, need and envy will always get you into trouble!

[Jeff McMahon]

My only consolation is that I vicariously experience the thrill of my brother's bling.

[Ed S.]

Bask in his bling's reflections if you must, but be aware this is what happens when a man buys into the ethos of "He who dies with the most toys wins." The competition can never stop.

[Jeff McMahon]

Consumerism is a destructive addiction, to be sure, but as James Twitchell's essays assert, consumerism is also a form of self-transformation. I'm reminded of the great change in Akaky, from Gogol's "The Overcoat."