[ WP ] Only the rich can afford to see the stars at night .

When I was younger my parents took my brother and I to visit my cousin Fred's farm. We had never been, and were not exactly happy about being out in the middle of nowhere. There is a big difference between New York city and small town Iowa after all. We were even more upset when we arrived. 
 
 They had no video games, no arcades, no mall, no sky scrapers. Heck they did n't even have a museum. I was ready to go home within the first ten minutes. The cattle stunk, the hogs stunk, and there was so much corn you could n't even see them half the time. That first night I went to bed early, listening to my cd player through my headphones. I was miserable. 
 
 
 The next day I was forced to do chores. At this point I was being forced but it was better than sitting alone in the dark room. After cleaning the stalls I noticed that Fred was smiling through his work. 
 
 `` You ca n't possibly be enjoying this work. `` I asked 
 `` I've never worked a day in my life. `` was his reply. 
 
 I looked around at how obvious it was that he'd never worked. The worn out house and barn. A truck older than I was, even the mail box was in need of replacing. But as Fred kept smiling I realized he really must've been happy. 
 
 That night we had a camp fire outside and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. The first s'more I had ever had was a messy delicacy. I remember laying on my back in the grass soaking in the pure ecstacy of such a simple treat. That's when I noticed it. The stars. You could see almost every one of them out there. It made me think of the field trip we took to the planetarium, only this was real, not a projected light. I spent the rest of our time the watching the sky at night. It was and still is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. 
 
 When we returned home I remember my dad asking if I learned anything by spending time with poor old Fred. 
 `` But Dad, Fred is n't poor. Only the rich can afford to see the stars. ``
