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THIS & THAT from Uncle Fred
By fred | July 31, 2008
We have to welcome even more new members to the BLOG, thanks for joining up, pop in and mouth off anytime.
We can use a few more expressing their opinions, we have too many of the strong silent types, need a few more like your Uncle Fred always spouting off. Well – spouting off if you got something to say, we should all try and think a bit before expressing opinions. Just with me I get so pissed sometimes I spout off nonsense when I should know better.
My buddy Doug, my sponsor for this BLOG, and the head honcho of Investment Systems chided me a few weeks back. Said he loved passion in my stuff, but, could I just take a few seconds and use spell check as my spelling was all screw up. So now, even if I am in a passionate mood, pissed off about something – have to write about it NOW – I do try and do a quick spell check first.
Years ago, when I had my 52 acre mini ranch in south Monterey county (three cows and three yearly calves) a good friend of mine was a guy by the name of ‘Mike’ I will not says his last name, since he has not given me permission. Now Mike was a real farmer, made his money that way, Mike is the reason I made a success of it, had fun as a part time farmer, he guided me in so many ways. Mike had a herd of well over a hundred head of beef, besides which he was a barley farmer, a crop that is not an irrigated crop, but depends on the Good Lord sending down a bit of rain to help out.
One of Mike’s favor sayings, that I have copied for years — well— sometimes I didn’t always follow his this advise, then I got in trouble. If I followed Mike’s favorite expression I was usually O. K. His words of wisdom were –“Best keep your mouth shut till you get your brain in gear.” Yes, I admit to sometimes jumping in quick and being wrong or saying something I should not. I have a hunch that we would all be better off if we followed my old buddy’s advice. Think about something; get your brain in gear before opening your big mouth.
My second favorite from rancher buddy - Mike was when I was working every weekend on my ranch, we had finished building what Sally and I considered our dream house on the top of a barley knoll, with a view for miles, - we had designed it from scratch, I did my own contracting and we got it done. Next I wanted to fence the ranch so I could have a few cows.
Laying barb wire in 100 degrees, etc. my brother in law Jack would come up almost every weekend. It was a long drive from the Los Angeles area where he lived then. All of a sudden for several weeks he did not come up. One day Mike drove by in his old pick-up truck and asked why Jack hadn’t come up.
Mike liked Jack, he should, brother in law Jack was one big bonus I got marrying Sally. Jack was another Mike, worked hard, kept his word, honest, and a friend you could depend on for life. Jack and Janet his bride have been lifetime buddies, if the chips were down both of them were there for you. Anyway – I told Mike I was not sure, hadn’t heard from Jack.
Mike looked at me for the longest while, then, with a grin, he said, “Seems to me Fred that you milked that cow one too many times!”
Mike was right, I had never though of it like that. I got to thinking, went up to our ranch house and told Sally, she laughed and said that Mike could be right, we were taking advantage of Jack. I immediately phoned Jack and said to come up this weekend. The phone was silent for a few minutes until I said, “Jack, no work, Bar B Q, a few cocktails, just fun, sorry I have been leaning on you for so long, come up and we’ll have a blast.”
I could hear Jack talking to Janet, happy as a lark, then he said on the phone “Expect us late Friday night.”
Poor Jack his back was aching, his arms were aching - his knees were aching. Pounding in T-posts for hanging barbed wire weekend after weekend in the blazing hot sun of South Monterey California - had taken it’s toll. Jack was an aero space sales engineer, selling, flying all over the country, golf games with clients, late dinners, and office work had not prepared Uncle Jack for his brother in law’s itch to have a ranch, and supporting that.
When I started this I was going to talk about just one of our new members, Kate, related to coin investing for the future, how to, and my thoughts on that. However, I find I have sat here and totally departed from the subject to I will get back to that tomorrow.
I guess I haven’t as yet made up my mind about this old age stuff. In one way, you get to set your own rules, if I depart from a subject, folks seem to let you get away with it, the not being disciplined as much in writing or anything else. I guess they excuse you as just another old fart, straying off the subject.
However – tomorrow I promise to discuss coin collecting – do I still think it is profitable or will be profitable in the future? Yes, I do, not as profitable as investing, using your brains and the systems our genius lads at Investment Systems advocate, but for a lazier mind, for a more timid person than a stock investor, or for an extremely conservative investor, unsure of him or herself – with at least a 20 year outlook I guarantee it will be a winner big time. That I will discuss tomorrow.
Also in the weeks to come, I will be sending a chapter at a time of a book I have been writing for years, sometimes months will go by before I add a chapter. It likely will never be published as it is too personal, just hunks of my life, about events, some minor but stuck in my head, mostly about my immediate family - Dad when he came over to the United States as a kid of seventeen, my childhood, high school, army, business, etc. until I got to the present. You will meet animals that we owned, or that owned us as it seemed that way. You may get a kick out of it, or you may not. The wonderful thing about computers is – if you get bored with your old Uncle Fred you can hit the ‘delete’ key and get rid of your long winded Uncle.
So I will end this, –hopefully the delete key has not been hit as yet! Till tomorrow–
Love ya, Uncle Fred
Topics: THIS & THAT from Uncle Fred |
August 23rd, 2008 at 1:29 am
Fred buddy,
That was one facinating story, you really are loaded with them sorry I dont do any investing besides CD’s but it is very interesting to read about it,hope this finds you and Sally well, sorry about Hillary not making the grade ha! good luck in November
see ya,
Oscar