it's complicated in the thick

the woman who took my wife to the state college airport--a friend of one of my cousins--turned out to be the wife of john rigas' son who is also serving prison time, and so I received another edition of the exploits of st. john while we waited for her. regis and adelphia were the saviors of coudersport and the adelphia offices still sit vacant but immaculately groomed, like the bedroom of a child 10 years after her abduction.

he's the local boy made good, or bad, looking from another angle, and everyone has a story about him. he was the businessman who singlehandedly kept this part of the thick afloat while everywhere around it was submerged in recession and a wilted economy. my cousin, whose dad worked for rigas after retiring from maintenance at coudersport city hall, has nothing but good things to say of the man. he mentions that he lost everything he'd staked in adelphia, "but that was my fault. I could've sold when shares were $79 but I didn't want to leave john in the lurch." that john didn't have quite the same concern about leaving his investors that way is best not mentioned.

but it's all about complexity. I'm tempted to say money forgives all, to note that when the rich deign to notice the serfs it's taken by the poor as a mark of greatness in the man who does it, as if remembering the name of the man who drives you from meeting to meeting takes herculean effort.

despite my cynicism, which is deserved, the fact stubbornly remains: while he was in the middle of defending himself in court john rigas did things like visiting people in the hospital without pr flacks or cameras. it's true he was on the hospital board and such a visit likely did take his mind off his troubles, but he could more easily have gone golfing or skeet shooting. and I have been impressed by people remembering my name who had no personal stake in doing so.

my cousin's friend turned out to be a nice enough person in the few moments I spoke with her, although my wife, having spent 2+ hours in a small car with her on back roads may have additional information to say. but it's also true that these same relatives who genuflect to the rich who remember their names also disparage the locals on food stamps who frequent their store considerably more often than anyone surnamed rigas. no number of good deeds done or friendliness shown by these folks seems ever to deserve anything but my cousins' scorn. as everywhere else, it's complicated in the thick.