I’ve done lots of reading about the old west and western movies and one area that interests me is the stagecoach, the mass transit of the time. Back then, when riding the coach, a passenger would be required to make a choice as to the type of ticket they would buy. Did you know a stagecoach passenger could choose between three classes of tickets: first, second, or third class? The term coach, even today in airline travel, implies a second class seat.
If the stage passenger chose a first class ticket, they were afforded special treatment or guarantees the other class passengers were not given. A first class ticket meant they would be provided food at certain stops along the way, choice of seat on a non-heated, non-air-conditioned, wooden box that seemed to hit every rut on the road while being pulled along at a blazing speed of 20 – 40 total miles in a 12 – 18 hour day – depending on the time of year and weather, of course.
There were other significant fringe benefit first class passengers had over the other two classes. A first class passenger could choose to remain seated on the coach, at their own discretion, for any unscheduled event or emergency. On the other hand, a second class passenger would be required to get off the coach and stand outside the coach while others repaired a broken axle or helped push the coach out of ruts or up hills, until the problem was solved. Second class ticket holders did have a few fringe benefits that third class ticket holders did not.
Third-class ticket holders were the solution to any of the problem that came along. They would be required to push the coach up a hill or out of a rut, help repair a broken axle, clear the baggage from the coach, or whatever else might be required.
There is a lesson here somewhere I think. How you look at this lesson is up to you! Not all of us can be rich, not all of us are poor, and not all of us can be middle class.
If the stage passenger chose a first class ticket, they were afforded special treatment or guarantees the other class passengers were not given. A first class ticket meant they would be provided food at certain stops along the way, choice of seat on a non-heated, non-air-conditioned, wooden box that seemed to hit every rut on the road while being pulled along at a blazing speed of 20 – 40 total miles in a 12 – 18 hour day – depending on the time of year and weather, of course.
There were other significant fringe benefit first class passengers had over the other two classes. A first class passenger could choose to remain seated on the coach, at their own discretion, for any unscheduled event or emergency. On the other hand, a second class passenger would be required to get off the coach and stand outside the coach while others repaired a broken axle or helped push the coach out of ruts or up hills, until the problem was solved. Second class ticket holders did have a few fringe benefits that third class ticket holders did not.
Third-class ticket holders were the solution to any of the problem that came along. They would be required to push the coach up a hill or out of a rut, help repair a broken axle, clear the baggage from the coach, or whatever else might be required.
There is a lesson here somewhere I think. How you look at this lesson is up to you! Not all of us can be rich, not all of us are poor, and not all of us can be middle class.
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