As we close out one year and open the next, one is tempted to relive all the good things and bad things that happened during the most recent year. At least until it becomes a chore to list and reflect. The bad things I want to forget and the good things are often hard to …
Category: Personal
Information of a personal nature.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
My very best wishes to you and your family for a wonderful Christmas and a New Year full of joy and satisfaction!
Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest 2011 Results
The most recent annual results from the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. The contest challenges entrants to compose bad opening sentences to imaginary novels and takes its name from the Victorian novelist Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, who began his “Paul Clifford” with “It was a dark and stormy night.” My favorite this year is the following, which received …
Happy Thanksgiving!
In our family, Thanksgiving reigns supreme. For the past several years, ever since the death of my mother-in-law, Thanksgiving has arrived at our house. My wife is the eldest of five children and all of them, along with spouses, children, grandchildren, dogs and various other friends and their relatives appear at our house. As an …
Who Said Insurance Agents Have NO Sense of Humor?
A stock broker, an actuary and an agent are all caught drinking smuggled liquor while staying in Saudi Arabia. Under Saudi law, simply possessing alcohol is an offense punishable by death. However, the local prince is feeling generous that day, so he commutes the death sentence and instead sentences each to 20 lashes. After further …
Continue reading Who Said Insurance Agents Have NO Sense of Humor?
Murphy’s Laws – Part IV
OK. Enough woe and gloom, technical mumbo jumbo, esoteric financial jargon, rain and cloudy skies. Where's the sushine, for God's sake? This is Homecoming Weekend! If this isn't time for a little levity, when is the time? Law of the Perversity of Nature: You cannot successfully determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter. …
Hypothetical Happiness
It occurred to me last week that I’ve become pretty gloomy in the posts I’ve been putting up these last few weeks. This happened in the car on my way home and I began to reflect on good things that have happened to me recently, the fact that I’ve considered myself a lucky person all …
The Earth, as Seen From the Int’l Space Station
Fascinating one minute video that starts over the northern Pacific Ocean, then western North America toward the south, finally ending up near Antartica with the rising sun. Cloud banks, lightening, all the stuff you normally see if you're an astronaut lucky enough to experienced this. Go here to watch this...
“Let Him Die”
I want to build on comments revealed the other day in a writing by Jacob Weisberg which appeared on September 13th. He was talking about the debate in Florida that featured 8 Republican presidential hopefuls. For many years I’ve been telling my children that one of the issues they will face as they age is …
HOW TO BE A TOUGH-MINDED OPTIMIST
Many, many years ago, I was sent this story. It is a speech given by a Dr. Alan Loy McGinnis to a meeting of the Million Dollar Round Table. Commonly known as the MDRT, this group represented and represents the elite among life insurance salesman across the country. Whenever I feel the need for a …
Helping Define Your Financial Future 