“You remember when a million dollars was a lot of money?” The Ski Lift Operator just stares at me, perplexed. “It isn’t?”

Not Ideas About the Thing But the Thing Itself: A Visit to the 2015 Aspen Ideas Festival by Ian MacAllister-McDonald

You must have seen a lot of changes, then,” I say, gesturing down to the town.

The Ski Lift Operator suddenly gets quiet, as though remembering something unpleasant and looks away. “Yeah, I guess I have,” he says. The sun passes behind some clouds and the sky darkens. “Millionaires moved in and now there’s no room for the working man.”

“Tell me about it,” I say, trying to sound sympathetic. “You remember when a million dollars was a lot of money?”

The Ski Lift Operator just stares at me, perplexed. “It isn’t?”