anecdotes

“You know what impressed me most?” I asked Jackson, my 11yr-old, tears welling up in his eyes, unable to speak, as we sat in the car, looking across the empty field. “You played hard, kept your cool under pressure, and even in those couple games when you guys had no hope, you never lost yours.” He plays goalie. Very well. And got pulled up in post-season play, to scrimmage with older kids. A few of whom hiss insults

“Fair enough, he had a point, guess I deserved it,” said my buddy, over a beer. “I’d been calling for the move, and well, just missed it,” admitted the CIO, humbly. You see, one of his investors had just called, pretty upset. Which is to be expected. After all, he gets well paid to get it right. We all do. “I quite like speaking with investors about what I’m thinking, but here’s the thing, I look at 200 markets, each

I need a f’in gun. High caliber. Short muzzle. One bullet. In my mouth. “Maybe if you hold him, comfort him, he’ll calm down,” she suggested, neatly tucking condescension into a sexy French accent. You see, my 3yr old was in full tantrum. He wasn’t alone. The room swarmed with spoiled, angry hornets, sweating in parka’s, waiting for ski school. Mara and our three oldest saw this coming and fled. Outside. Leaving me a

“Follow me, do what I do, move how I move, exactly, or he’ll see you, sense us, and be gone,” he hushed, slithering across the steep mountain face, amongst jagged rocks, heather. Gracefully, beautifully. We lay flat. Clothed in tweed. Loading the high-powered rifle. With a single bullet. The muscular 11-point stag stood 100 meters ahead, alert, surveying the terrain. I slowed my breath, smoothed it,

“Daddy gave me an amazing day,” announced Olivia, beaming, sparkling. As we walked through the front door, returning from our adventure. Mara snuck me a wink, and gave her a big hug. You see, our children celebrate their birthdays by choosing an adventure. Olivia chose to climb Dragon’s Back – a steep ascent, along a remote, jagged ridge, high above Santa Barbara. The eagerly awaited day had at last arrived, an

“When I gained citizenship in the early eighties, I made an oath to do my army, pay my taxes, be a good citizen…that was the rule,” stated one of Switzerland’s top institutional investors. “Today, people want their rights, without bearing the obligation, it is a huge hypocrisy,” he continued. “Switzerland was always a land of opportunity, like America, everything was possible, people came with money, brought value, b

“I’m keeping it simple these days,” he said, “cause I’m not that smart.” Now, false modesty should be annoying coming from a trader who’s profited so consistently, over so many years – but I cut this guy infinite slack. Not just because he’s been a great trading mentor. But ’cause he believes it. And fears the day he stops humbling himself, he’ll get steamrolled. “So many smart guys explain why stocks will go d

Olivia and Teddy squeezed into the 3rd row, double-buckled, sandwiched between luggage, laptops, lacrosse gear. Osama bin Charlie, strapped to his water-board, shared the 2nd row with Jackson and Grandma. DJ Mara rode shotgun, spinning Harry Potter books-on-tape. While Grandpa Pierre sat between us, reduced to ashes, in a 6-inch wooden box, in the center console, amidst our CD collection. Yeah, it was our Little Miss

“No,” she answered. Which surprised me. You see, I’d asked if she’s having fun. It’s a question I ask people when they’re killing it. And she is. Sara’s billed 6th on a summer blockbuster. New roles are rolling in – yeah, performance-chasing premiered in Hollywood. She’s writing a book, coaching rising stars too. Who worship her like a Scientology high priest. Of