Richer (by a helluva lot) Than Croesus
PHAH! Nobody is richer than me. Taking Stock of My (and Your) Wealth So much music recorded. So many wonderful musicians and composers. So much good writing. So many books, so much reportage and fiction, so much poetry, sculpture, painting, architecture, technology, and science. Since writing, recording, and all forms of “memory” came to be, the inventory of great stuff has become inconceivably large, and it is growing exponentially. We are riding the foam on the top of the advancing, compounding wave of preserved genius, and we can plunge back into that staggering mass and experience art from back along the timeline. Music from the ancients (and my fav, the early ‘40s) is still there, awaiting our submergence. Stunning literature from 1851, drama from 1606, three million movies since 1880. So damn much! It is wealth beyond comprehension. No prince or despot (even grouchy old Croesus) ever commanded such treasure. The Alexandrian library pales by comparison. Just counting our bl