Years ago in the early 90s I had a job in customer service for a telephone company. We had a girl start that was from somewhere down south and she had moved up into the Midwest because her husband got a job in the cattle industry. His job wasn't normally a traveling job, but his first 2 years he had to do a lot of it to learn about the different livestock auctions, plants, etc. Just normal new hire stuff learning the industry.

She wanted to go home for a long holiday weekend, but her husband couldn't go because of her work schedule, so she asked one of their mutual friends if he wanted to go with her. He also worked there with us. (Totally innocent, this isn't a cheating story.) She was always funny, down to earth, well dressed but not anything expensive. Think Younkers clothes instead of KMart, but not high end designer stuff. She had a nice new car but it was a low end base model compact. Everyone loved her and her down home southern attitude.

Forward to next week, they had returned. The friend she took let us in on her secret.

Her family was LOADED. They got to the city they lived in, Nashville I think. Her parents compound was walled, had live security on duty including the gate guard you see in movies. Garage full of Italian sports cars. A Rolls Royce with a chauffeur. In the front hall there was a hand-written check framed and signed by Jimmy Hoffa for 1mil. Uncashed.

Turns out her grandfather had invented something to do with reefer units and was in the trucking industry. All the trucks with their family name I saw on the road were hers, but I didn't know because she was married and had taken her husband's last name.

She chose to live a normal life with her husband and struggle like any other young couple instead of living off of her family's wealth. She was just a sweet normal girl.