I played the game the way I was told. I followed the rules, payed my dues, caused no trouble and was a good little boy. Maybe I got lucky just a bit, too, I don't deny it. I was born in the right era and I'm the right age. I was in the right places at the right times, and I managed to miss all the potholes on the way here. But that's OK, sooner or later I'll get what's coming to me, sooner or later I'll meet the smiling mortician. We all do.

But there are other ways to get lucky, too, like having the right Daddy, going to the right schools, having the right skin color, picking the right career, making the right investments, marrying the right woman. There's a million ways things can go right or wrong, and all it takes is one, either way. For those who get lucky, its all about how they earned it. For those who didn't, who complain, the put-down is always the same: "Quit your whining, that's not my problem, no one made you any guarantees, no one said life was fair. It's time you accept some personal responsibility for your actions, so don't expect me to bail you out."

The moon may be a harsh mistress, but there IS a free lunch, at least for those lucky enough to get a place in line, early and near the front. Hey, I didn't make the rules, I had to play the hand I was dealt, just like you. For the rest of you, well, I've got a little advice that should sound familiar: "Take a bath and get a job."

So take this brother, may it serve you well.
http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/moonisharsh.htm