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Old 10-15-2011, 08:52 PM
 
7,150 posts, read 10,917,706 times
Reputation: 3806

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Dare you to read and laugh at this man's success:

For 35 years Reuben Pardo has operated the same elevator in an Art Deco building on Wilshire Blvd. A marvelous story of happiness in a life of ups and downs. How to live without money controlling your sense of happiness and worth -- even in California:

COLUMN ONE: Elevator operator's overriding story: joy - latimes.com

"His brother became a public defender. One sister is an accountant. The other retired as a pharmacist assistant. "Everybody had a good position and guess what? They all got houses and three cars, four cars in the garage. And I'm the one with the little apartment," Pardo says.

That's the small version of Pardo's life: "But we are happy. Me and my wife, we are really happy.... As long as you're happy, as long as you are full of happiness, that's all that matters."


He and Trudy married in 1972. They have one son, 29, and one granddaughter, 11.

Trudy, retired from Carl's Junior, keeps the house and cooks the food.

And on his day off, Pardo celebrates her.

They ride the bus around, "MTA cruising." They go to a restaurant.

"I take her out every Sunday so she can relax," he says. "That's my personal gift to her until God takes us away."

On Saturday night, the two choose their Sunday spot. It could be Denny's or IHOP or Norm's.

Each week until they decide, it's a delicious surprise.

"I love my small, little world."
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Old 10-15-2011, 10:58 PM
 
Location: The High Seas
7,371 posts, read 16,036,113 times
Reputation: 11869
When he first started, his boss said, "Listen, pal, I'm letting you in on the ground floor here. With the right attitude you can go straight to the top."
OK, that about covers the elevator jokes.
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Old 10-15-2011, 11:19 PM
 
434 posts, read 850,563 times
Reputation: 516
I don't get it. Whats the moral of the story? That we can be happy with nothing? Then I guess there is nothing wrong with letting the thieving Sacramento politicians stymie our success with all their laws, fees, and bureaus. And likewise be happy with the pittance that we have left in our paychecks after the leeches steal our hard-earned dollars in the name of compassion and "we are all in this together".

Not me. I won't be happy until me and my kids can prosper as was intended by the smart men who founded this country. And those who stand in the way (mostly Dems) should be run over.
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Old 10-15-2011, 11:20 PM
 
Location: Declezville, CA
16,806 posts, read 39,993,670 times
Reputation: 17695
Quote:
Originally Posted by native56 View Post
I don't get it.
I agree wholeheartedly, you didn't get it.
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Old 10-16-2011, 12:38 AM
 
Location: Vancouver, WA
8,220 posts, read 16,732,556 times
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Interesting and timely post. A recent study was released which found that couples who place more emphasis on materialism have more problems in their marriage.

Can't Buy Love: Materialism Is a Marriage Killer, Study Finds - ABC News

Most people whose numero uno goal in life is to get rich won't get your post or the study. But as the Beatles put it so well:


The Beatles - Can't Buy Me Love (Live) - YouTube

Derek
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Old 10-16-2011, 01:00 AM
 
Location: Columbia, California
6,664 posts, read 30,642,677 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Snort View Post
When he first started, his boss said, "Listen, pal, I'm letting you in on the ground floor here. With the right attitude you can go straight to the top."
OK, that about covers the elevator jokes.
The job has it's ups and downs.
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Old 10-16-2011, 01:05 AM
 
Location: Vallejo
21,909 posts, read 25,231,561 times
Reputation: 19124
Didn't really get it from the copy pasta either, you have to watch the video. The guy's a genuine character.
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Old 10-16-2011, 01:57 AM
 
296 posts, read 614,904 times
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He's a real sweetheart, but just don't push his buttons...
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Old 10-16-2011, 07:28 AM
 
7,150 posts, read 10,917,706 times
Reputation: 3806
Quote:
Originally Posted by MtnSurfer View Post
Interesting and timely post. A recent study was released which found that couples who place more emphasis on materialism have more problems in their marriage.

Can't Buy Love: Materialism Is a Marriage Killer, Study Finds - ABC News

Most people whose numero uno goal in life is to get rich won't get your post or the study. But as the Beatles put it so well:


The Beatles - Can't Buy Me Love (Live) - YouTube

Derek
Good catch, Derek ... I also saw the ABC News article on the study of materialism and happiness last week ... bookmarked it and made a mental note, thinking I might find an appropriate time / thread to post that link here, given the dominant, incessant chatter about how 'we are all being ripped off in life by Sacramento' ... and how impossible it is to be happy in Calif., etc etc etc. ... Then I saw this last night and found it a more -- uh, poetic, shall we say -- way to say the same thing as the dry study. Most folks are only being ripped off by their own mentality / desires.

Waiting for yeahthatguy now to chime in with what long and short 'trades' he made this past week to buy happiness ... 3..2..1..
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Old 10-16-2011, 09:00 AM
 
7,150 posts, read 10,917,706 times
Reputation: 3806
OK, so now an hour + has gone by more ... I have just finished a bit of fish for breakfast with a bowl of oatmeal, spiked with a handful of pecans and sprinkled with a few raisins ... the sunrise has just hit a full sphere along the tops of the mountains east, as if a blindingly brilliant golden ball is precariously balanced on the pinnacle peaks of the 'Twin Sisters' (north Cascades) ... the waters in my near field are like glass ... low fog bank hovers at tree top level across the passage, unwilling to leave little Portage Island quite yet, but at least has been willing to give up the beach and lower trees. Dog at my feet snoring in the van as I gaze so out the windows with a little propane heater chasing the chill.

'Good for Reuben Pardo', I'm thinking to myself. 'Today he is riding the MTA with his bride of 40 years'. They will dine in style at a chain restaurant. And hold hands. Their big day off will cost them probably less than $20, together. And mine nothing, over the basic cost of oatmeal and bread and sliced turkey for a sandwich later -- oh, and a buck or two's propane for the heater now that the season has turned. Tomorrow Reuben Pardo will be excited to see his regular elevator riders again. I will gaze at another sunrise or misty shoreline.

What do you all who complain life is not giving you enough have planned for tomorrow?

Last edited by nullgeo; 10-16-2011 at 09:35 AM..
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