My laptop’s dictionary/thesaurus lazily defines affluent as ‘having a great deal of money’ and as a synonym for wealthy. It’s a very abrupt definition: you can almost feel the anxiety of the person whoever wrote it, as if s/he had to go to the bathroom and was running out the door with pen in hand.
I almost didn’t go because I didn’t feel like pretending to be smarter than I really am, around a bunch of my folks, all in the name of ‘our recovery’ (all the sighing is so much more convenient that way, I guess). I don’t want to be shady; I’d rather shine a light, as much as I can, as tired as I am. I went because I knew there’d be people there who know how to love me, to hug them and maybe shake the hands of a few people I don’t know. If you don’t know me by now, well, there’s always the archives …
