Rich Man, Poor Man

Brian and Jeremy were two neighbours of Polish descent who, notwithstanding their shared ancestry, were poles apart; the former being as poor as a church mouse, the latter as rich as Croesus.

Brian could not help being envious of Jeremy's big and luxurious house even though he knew that envy is a green-eyed monster better to be avoided.

In comparison to his own dwellings it was a palace but, being indigent, he had to admit that beggars can't be choosers.

He was a keen gardener and an enthusiastic cook and was glad to have an orchard at the back of his place. 

He was aware that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, which was handy for when he cooked apple pies. 

Also as an apple a day keeps the doctor away, the abundance of Cox's Orange Pippin and James Grieves that grew made sure he never needed medical treatment.

When he saw that Jeremy's tiny garden consisted of only a lawn of a few square metres surrounded by acres of crazy paving, he realised that, despite the grand façade, all that glitters is not gold.

Jeremy had paid over the odds for his property, having been gazumped but still determined to buy it. That a fool and his money are soon parted, was Brian's opinion, which he kept to himself wishing to remain on good terms and because discretion was the better part of valour.

He took his neighbour's assertion that he had made a shrewd investment in acquiring a house that would soon increase tenfold in value, with a pinch of salt.

The two were like chalk and cheese. Jeremy, affluent, being waited on hand and foot, ordering bottles of vintage wine from prestigious vintners; Brian, living from hand to mouth, self-sufficient and making his own wine, crashing the grapes with his bare feet, like the Romans do, in Rome and elsewhere, and storing his plonk in recycled bottles.
But Brian wouldn't have wished for anybody else as a neighbour; better the devil you know, as the saying goes.

Obviously, they had little skirmishes from time to time; Brian complaining about the noise of late-night parties, Jeremy objecting at the sight of Brian's tatty old van parked on the street in full view of his distinguished guests.

Yet they always resolved their disputes amicably because. in the words of the Bard, all is well that ends well.

© Luigi Pagano 2023

 This week's Inspiration Point is to pick an idiom, adage or proverb and base a story or poem on it.