The only visible differences between "First Class" passengers and "others" in my experience involve carry-ons and appearance. First Class pax rarely use black plastic garbage bags instead of rollaboards, and in most cases trim the long hairs growing from the prominent moles on their chins or cheeks.

While I've flown in both compartments on both domestic and international flights, one day back in 1994, pondering the future, maneuvered out of a executive level job, and about to be self-employed, and with two daughters in college, I made a serious life-style decision. I needed about $150,000 in after-tax cash to insure both them (if personally able and willing) received enough education to make a living. I didn't want to borrow money - and most of all, as a former banker, I knew that "education loans" combined being a conjob with insuring nothing but years of monthly payments for struggling youngsters and young families.

My decision was to travel in the back of the bus, and to divert all those dollars of mine (and those which could be inveigled from clients) into building my "Cash for College" fund. While I had to borrow from myself to pay part of the freight and didn't realize all of the set aside until several years after the last daughter graduated, one morning I woke up, rewarded by years of flying Economy and driving Ford Expeditions instead of Lincoln Navigators, to have met the self-obligation. My efforts on behalf of my daughters have been rewarded by both, the oldest a housewife and teacher whose husband supports her grandly just over the hill from Hollywood, while the youngest, flies Economy, has owned both a Mercedes and a Land Rover, and as an exec pulls down more salary than I ever did.

Shucks, after all the abstinence, I don't even feel the need to fly in First (although I enjoy Business Class reward tickets, when there's an ocean to cross).

I'm not implying that a whole lot of the folks I see in First have their priorities a bit twisted, or that everybody here has daughters to send to college (or sons who at least can do manual labor in the Summer to cover fraternity dues), but reading some of the godawful horsecr*p posted here and listening to some of those teetering on the edge of the red carpets in airports through which I pass, I'm certain that any number would greatly benefit from a substantial readjustment of personal and professional perspective.

Like the customers waiting to spend their Christmas Gift Cards from Sharper Image, the stores with gewgaws and gimmicks for the over-funded and under-intellected, awakening one morning unable to buy with the cards or recoup the loss, you may end up with obligations and needs for which some of the extra you spent of frippery and First Class tickets would go a long way toward covering.