My little daughter dumped all the money out of her purse onto the living room carpet this morning. It was mostly coins and one-dollar bills. She counted slowly and carefully. Her brother poked his hand in periodically, trying to sneak away a coin or two when she wasn’t looking. When she did look at him, he tried to invent a multi-dollar fine she could pay him for some imagined slight.
She finished and looked up at me. “I have $18.”
Then she smiled. “Today is Friday, so that means allowance day.”
“That’s true,” I said.
“I don’t really need all this money,” she said. “Dad didn’t know what our allowance was this one time, and he gave us a dollar, and I thought that was fine. You should give us a dollar for allowance instead of five dollars.”
As I mulled this over, her brother frantically shook his head.
And the amazing thing is, the girl knows the difference between one and five dollars, and she’s not kidding. She’d be happy to take less. Ever since she could talk, she’s been blowing my mind on a regular basis with little gestures that show her unselfish nature.
I cannot figure out where it comes from. How did this child spring from my loins?
Meanwhile, my boy walks around giving stock tips. Remember how he told everyone at the Iowa wedding on June 12th not to buy BP yet? It opened at $34.05 that day. Today it closed at $27.02.
Now he contends that Procter & Gamble is doomed to fail. I have no idea where he’s getting that from, but I’m mildly nervous. I like my Bounce and Bounty, my Dawn and Duracell, my Cascade and CoverGirl. I need Tide and Gillette and Crest and Secret.
O, belovéd consumer staples provider, I’d be lost without you. Why must my little child sound the herald of your demise?
But seriously, where is he getting that from?
I may be living with Warren Buffett. And his unselfish sister.
Categories: The Kids
Flabby Brain 
Maybe this is reading too much into this, but I’m reminded of a fun story about Warren Buffett:
Someone once asked Buffett why he didn’t invest in companies like Global Crossing and Worldcom. Buffett’s response: “I can’t figure out how they make money.” In the end, Buffett was right: they weren’t making money.
Just a thought… how often does someone ask The Boy how a company makes money?