“You can trust what he says, just don’t watch what he does.” It wasn’t a derogatory remark – it was an honest opinion. And the fact that it was expressed by a PGA club professional gave it validity. John and I played a fair amount of golf together until time commitments and changing work schedules […]
Standing on the Shoulders of Experts
“Most people work from the bottom up. You’re the only one I know who works from the top down.” I wasn’t sure it was a compliment or a criticism until he followed up with, “When I said my door was always open, you really didn’t think I meant it, did you?” I did – but he […]
Grandma Gone Wild
“I bet that cost you a pretty penny,” I said with a grin. “No Daddy, it cost you a pretty penny,” my daughter replied with an even bigger grin. The object we were referring to was a very expensive double BOB stroller that had caught my eye in my daughter’s garage. It appears that, unbeknownst […]
That Daughter of Mine
“I have heard that your first fall off of a horse may determine what kind of rider you will be.” I didn’t write that, my daughter Anna did. She continued: “My heart dropped as I watched Sally fall to the ground, but I knew I had to stand back and watch to see how she […]
Self-Centered, Certain, and Wrong
What I thought would be the most important event of the summer, my sixtieth birthday, turned out to be an afterthought. Starting off the chain of events that got in the way of my big day was the birth of our first grandson. He was named Dominic after his great-grandfather, although there was some discussion […]
A Smile and Other Unique Identifiers
I have always been known for my smile. It is a unique characteristic that has always distinguished me and occasionally benefited me. For example, in the 70s I was working long hours in a very remote area, and rarely got into town. On one of those infrequent trips, I stopped by a Bank of America […]
A Brief History of Investing
Reading A Brief History of Time was like taking the red pill offered by Morpheus in the 1999 movie The Matrix. Having recently seen Stephen Hawkins’ obituary in The Economist, I was reminded of the impact his book had on my life. The reality of theoretical physics, as explained by Hawkins, is a different paradigm than […]
That’s Not the Beer Talking
“You have no respect for cognitive reverie, you know that?” At the time I saw the movie, A Beautiful Mind, I had no idea what ‘reverie’ meant. However, when John Nash’s roommate retorted, “Yes, but…I have enormous respect for…beer,” I got that. And so did the John Nash character, because it drew him out of […]