Ace Wisdom

Mother’s day is Sunday. Your Mom loves you in a way no one else can!
Grasshopper No.1 gave me an “Elvis Presley Live” CD as a belated birthday gift. I loaded it into my CD fanny pack and trundled out to the local mall for my walk. Wouldn’t you know my CD player batteries were dead. Why would they die just as I loaded a new CD? So I had to wait a day to play Elvis. The next day I loaded new batteries. Still my new CD would not play. So my thought was, “my old CD player has finally crapped out”. Nope, other CD’s worked. Then I put Elvis into my car CD player. Again it wouldn’t play. So I guess I go back to Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass. I do appreciate No.1’s effort.
The notion of there being a “tipping point” with gas prices is intriquing. At what price will you change the way you use your automobile and live your life. I know some people are refraining from filling their tanks. When the price gets to $20, $30 or $40 on the pump, they just stop pumping. This act of defiance doesn’t solve anything but it makes you feel better.
A tipping point is when you refuse to buy a different vehicle (even though you need one) because the improvement in mileage on the new car is very small (maybe non-existent).
A “tip” is when you cancel a trip because the calculated gas cost is prohibitive.
A “tip” is when you are choosing between shoes for the kids or gasoline.
A “tip” is when you are choosing between food for the table or gasoline.
You get the idea. There is a price point of gasoline in everybody’s budget that causes buying habits to change. It is different for everyone. If you are Hilary Clinton and earned $20 million last year, I don’t think gas prices matter. If you are Obama and you earned $4 million last year, I don’t think gas prices matter. If you are McCain and you wife is worth over $100 million dollars, I don’t think the words “tipping point” mean anything. Did I leave anyone out. Woe is us.
Hopefully you don’t reach the “tipping point” when if comes to Mom. Drive less, love more!
Love,
Dad

The name Warren runs in my family. My Dad’s first name was Warren. There is at least one or maybe more great-children that have “Warren” sprinkled into a middle name.
I have always been fascinated by the “Oracle of Omaha”, Warren Buffet. He owns about 25% of a company know as Berkshire Hathaway. That makes him the richest man in the world. One share of Berkshire Hathaway is worth $135,000. So if you own ten shares of Berkshire, you are a millionaire.
You get clues in life. When I first joined Ripon Foods, there was a consultant that mentioned he owned several shares of Berkshire Hathaway. I asked what the company did and he said they were a conglomeration of different companies. In 1989, Berkshire Hathaway sold for $4000 per share. My thought at the time was “holy sh–“. I would have needed to mortgage my family to buy several shares. But, alas I didn’t.
Several years earlier, my Uncle Bob had asked me if I had ever heard of Warren Buffet. I responded with “who”? He said that I should look into the company. The Chairman of the Board was a special individual. Again, I ignored the clue.
So my dream in life slipped past my grasp. Today there is no way I could afford to buy1 share of a stock that doesn’t even pay a dividend ($135,000). But I had clues as I traveled the path of life that could have led me to a lot of money.
Why this discussion about Warren? He held his annual stockholder’s meeting in Omaha last weekend. It was like a lovefest. He has made millionaires out of a lot of people that believed in his genius. Stockholders come from around the world to visit with Grandpa Warren. He seems like you and me. He tells stories. He eats Dairy Queens (he owns the company). He attends the local baseball game of the semi-pro team (he owns the team). He throws out the first pitch at the game. They buy furniture, jewelry, and time shares on executive jets at discount prices (he owns the companies). He owns insurance firms, newspapers, soda and snacks. You can even play bridge with him. He sings and plays the ukelele. This pilgrimage of loyal stockholders happens every year.
My conclusion Grasshoppers is that Warren puts on his pants just like you and I. He is 77 years old, in good health and looks like a normal Grandfather. He was born in Omaha, grew up in Omaha and got filthy rich in Omaha. He had a paper route. He sold gum door to door. Just because bought a small farm at age 15 made him a little special.
Obviously I am not going to get rich any more from investing in Warren Buffet’s company. I guess my best shot at the “golden ring” is for him to adopt me.
By the way, Warren’s advice is to buy good companies and hold them. Imagine! Buy and hold. I don’t think he can spell the word “sell”.
So my advice is look for clues as you live your life. Riches may be closer than you know. Maybe you can hold your own lovefest some day. Imagine, Chairman Deb, Chairman Kelly, Chairman Chris, Chairman Paul and Chairman Margaret. Culvers is for sale!
Love,
Dad

Grasshopper No.3 along with your Mom and I attended our second Clark Howard seminar at the Kimberly High School. Most proceeds from the ticket sales go to Habitat for Humanity.
When you look in the dictionary for the definition of “cheap”, there is a picture of Clark Howard. Excitement in Clark’s life revolves around a continual series of money saving events. If he will change satelite TV every 18 months to save money. If he can save money by booking airline tickets that stop 4-5 times before reaching a destination (versus direct flights), he’ll do it. He will shop where there are no parking meters to avoid parking costs. You get the idea.
What did I learn at this seminar? Clark asked “how many in the audience are debt free”. I bet that close to 30% of the audience raised their hands. My conclusion is that Wisconsinites are conservative and many have a few bucks tucked away. I guess not everybody in life is debt up to their ass.
What else did I learn? Saving money very early in life translates to big investment returns later in life. You can’t start saving money too early. There is a big benefit to educating your kids about this phenomenon (my Grandchildren).
What else? There is an artform to constantly looking for the best bargains in life. Because things keep changing, you need to constantly educate yourself about financial opportunities.
So how did Clark do personally when he was in town. Well, in an attempt to avoid parking fees in a local ramp, he got a ticket for parking illegally on a side-street overnight and had to pay a $25 fine. Then he bought a Green Bay Packer sweatshirt at Goodwill for $6 versus $25 at Target. It looks like he saved $19 but he bought it for fun because he was in Wisconsin. He probably won’t ever wear it again. By my calculations,Clark lost $6. He is an Atlanta Falcons fan. So even the great Clark Howard don’t score very well in saving money but he has fun trying.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that you need a disciplined savings program in your life and it helps to be “cheap”.
Love,
Dad

Last Friday was the first time in over 3 years that I didn’t post a regular blog. The world survived.
My birthday came and went. For those of you who remembered, my sincere expression of appreciation. For those that didn’t remember, you are out of the will. My favorite gift came from Mom. She bought a box of Titleist Pro VI golf balls. They cost almost $50 per box of 12 versus $24 for “normal” golf balls. I always “cheap out” and buy the less expensive golf balls. My rationalization is that when I hit one ball in the water, I’ve only lost $2 with each ball. But now, because of the extravagant gift, everytime I hit the ball in the water I’ve “pi—- away $4. I wonder how that is going to feel.
Grasshopper No.5 gave us a gift certificate to a Minneapolis playhouse (equivalent to the Fireside in Fort Atkinson) at Christmas time. We used it this weekend to see “42nd Street”. Add to that a free Asian dinner for my birthday and I can only say it was a nice weekend. No.5 has photographs on display at one of the local Minneapolis art galleries. She has promised to send us one that we liked. The best one turned out to be a patched pocket from the bottom of one of her jeans. I recognized it immediately.
I understand Grasshopper No.2 ran the Crazylegs 8K marathon in Madison. There was some complaining about strong headwinds but she beat all the times from the previous season and finished 37th out of 265 in the her women’s age group. Pretty damn good! I understand Mitchell competed and finished also. Good for him.
Warm weather is approaching (I think). I signed up for my golf league yesterday in a driving snow storm. In fact, 1 inch had accumulated on the grass as I paid my $30 annual dues at local golf club. Only an optimist would sign up for golf believing that we will have some nice days.
I understand that tax stimulus payments have begun a week early. I assume that will accelerate everybody’s payment schedule. By my calculation, one-half of your stimulus payment will go for gasoline. Someone explain to me how that stimulates the economy.
As I finish my blog, my information is that Nana (who was rushed to the hospital last night) will be okay. Apparently it was a combination of asthma and a cold. Good news.
Keep the faith!
Love,
Dad

There is a whole list of Murphy Laws. Things like, “if things can’t go wrong, they will”.
Well I heard a new one this morning. If you come into some extra cash (you know, a tax stimulus rebate or an unexpected gift), your house knows it. Your house will develop a plumbing problem, the roof will leak or an appliance craps out. How does the house know this? Maybe Murphy’s Laws are involved.
There is a corollary axiom to the house knowing you have extra cash. Your car knows it too! If you have extra money, a water pump starts leaking, a battery dies or windshield wipers stop swiping.
Oh yeah, there is another corollary axiom. The family knows when you have extra cash. Summer league soccer costs $90 or the dentist recommends immediate braces.
I don’t have a magic solution for this phenomenon. Somehow you’ve got to make sure the house doesn’t know you have extra cash. You’ve got to deceive the car also. And never, never tell the family when you have extra bucks. “Squirrel” the money away quietly.
In the end, you can’t beat the system. The world is going to get your “extra money”. Strange how that happens! I think Murphy was a pretty smart guy.
Love,
Dad

I recently attended a concert put on by Andre Rieu, an accomplished violinist and band leader. He obviously has a passion for music and it shows, His message was “keep music in your life because it performs miracles”. Huh!
Andre gave a couple examples. He knew of a cat that had been sterilized. The owner felt so bad for the cat that he played Strauss Waltzs to help her feel better. Several years later the cat had a litter of kittens. It must have been “the power of the waltz”. A married couple was going to get divorced but decided to spend one last evening together. They played Waltzs in the bedroom and now they are possesed by love. Powerful stuff those waltzs. Waltzs can make anemic plants grow and bloom.
So in this era of superheros, I have decided that in addition to Captain Marvel, Mighty Mouse and Superman, there should be one more hero, Wally Oh Waltz (initials WOW). I shall refer to him as Mr. WOW, the fastest dispenser of Waltz music in the world.
Mr. WOW is the most powerful action hero ever. Imagine knowing a friend with an incurable disease. It would be Mr. WOW to the rescue. He would launch a string of beautiful waltzs and the person would be healed.
There wouldn’t be any war. Mr. WOW could have zapped Hitler with a constant barrage of Strauss Waltzs. HItler would have signed Peace Agreements rather than Declarations of War. It would be a different world.
When your boss at work makes unreasonable demands, you would turn on the CD player at your desk loaded with Waltz music. The boss would be transported to another place (mentally) and you would suddently get 30% annual raises. Powerful stuff, this waltz music.
You get the idea. Maybe Andre Rieu has something. Welcome Mr. WOW into your life. He is a good guy.
I have a personal connection with Mr. WOW (sometimes referred to as just plain Wally). If you need an introduction, let me know.
The lesson grasshoppers is that when your life sometimes turns to sh–, call on Mr. WOW. He can help you slay the demons. Serenity could be just around the corner.
Now I need to figure out what my action hero should look like?
Love,
Dad

Almost a year ago I went on a rant about the insanity of using food to produce gas and diesel fuel. We will be able to drive our Chevy Suburban but we won’t have food to eat We do make brilliant decisions.
I see that the World Health Organization headquartered in London has sent out an urgent plea for financial support because prices of the food they supply to needy countries has gone up at an astounding rate. Even worse, there are food shortages because corn, wheat, and soybeans are being diverted to “petrol”. Dah! So President Bush rushes to the crisis and sends $200 million dollars worth of food to help cover the shortage. Who do you think pays for the $200 million? That’s right! You and me. Now let me see. I pay higher prices for food because it is being converted to fuel. My fuel prices are not going down (food based fuel was supposed to alleviate supply/price problems). The world is experience a greater food crisis as starving nations can’t get food. And then we are sending emergency food (which will result in higher taxes) to needy nations. Turning food to fuel is a brilliant strategic decision.
On a more personal level, I am spending my time nursing my Saab through another crisis. Two weeks ago a logo disintegrated going through a car wash. Then a decorative strip around the front bumper mysteriously disappeared. The latest problem is my “bulb” fell out. The large lamp that “houses” the front turn signal fell out. Gone. So I ordered a new lamp for $137 and scheduled installation. After 45 minutes of waiting for a turn signal lamp to be installed, I was informed that a wiring harness was also missing and needed to be replaced. The harness is not in stock so we are waiting for overnight delivery. I will probably spend another hour tomorrow waiting for installation. Don’t believe it. Something else will be wrong and I’ll have to go back again.
On the way home from the garage, my AM radio started crackling. Every bump brings a static sound. Great! As Dr. Phil would say, “how is your Saab working for you”?
So Grasshoppers, we are back to the Serenity Prayer. There are things I just can’t change and I will let them go but not before voicing my opinion. Then I will search for serenity.
Love,
Dad