I spent the last couple of days living like rich people. I have a great friend – ex-boss, actually – who has done pretty well in life. Good person, smart, talented, athletic, two great kids and now a grandson, still happily married to his high school sweetheart…and has managed to make a ton of money along the way. A charmed life. He’s been a good friend to me, and we make sure to get together and have some fun a few times a year.

This time he invited me and a mutual friend to play a couple of days of golf in the desert and stay at his winter home in Palm Desert. I’ve been there before and it’s a beautiful place. The home is in The Reserve, a community of about 270 custom homes laid around a spectacular golf course, also called The Reserve. The course was in perfect shape and we played OK – not great, but OK and we had great fun. Our second day of golf was no doubt affected by the injection of several bottles of 100-point wine the night before.

And the course *should* be in great shape. My friend didn’t volunteer the info – he’s actually quite private – but at $250K to join and $25K/month, it’s an exclusive club. That’s just the golf. Add to that the $3-5M you have to pony up for a home there, and it’s a gated community in more ways than one. My friend lives a life that most of the world can only dream about, or can’t even imagine. It’s a bubble. We did talk a lot of politics – fortunately my wealthy friend and his wife haven’t succumbed to the typical monied person’s reflexive swing toward conservatism. They care about people, about rights. We talked about maybe needing a place to escape outside the US if things continue to track toward dictatorship – I think they’re considering the Portugal “golden visa”, giving you Portugal/EU citizenship with a 250K Euro investment. I volunteered that I’d be more likely to buy one of the one Euro Italy/Sicily homes for a rebuild. But then there are the grandsons to consider – at this point, there’s no way I could live across an ocean from them, so that option is pretty much gone.

The drive to and from Palm Desert across the San Jacinto mountains was pleasant, the scenery dramatic. The transition down the mountain into the Palm Desert/Palm Springs area is unique – it’s a landscape you just don’t see anywhere else. And this time of year, it’s perfect. I didn’t get pictures of the journey, because you can’t take your eyes off the road as you drive along that twisty, dangerous stretch of CA 74.

I’m happy there are people like my friend who have hit a home run in all aspects of life. Sometimes the good guys don’t finish last. I’m especially happy that he’s a good person, not spoiled by all the success. Gives me hope about people in general.