A New Year Coming Down
“Well I woke up Sunday morning, with no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt.
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad, so I had one more for desert.”
-Kris Kristofferson
On New Year’s Day, there will many people waking up with hangovers. For some, it happens once a year. For others, it is an every day experience.
Many use booze or drugs when life is out of control. It is easier to pop a pill or have a beer than to tackle one’s underlying problems.
New Year’s is a time when people will make life changes. Diet classes and workout centers fill up every January, and people make resolutions to improve themselves.
My demon is my weight.
A few years ago, I started a group called Don’s Get Fit Club. I wrote a column inviting overweight men in Richmond to come meet me and share ideas about losing weight. Four men showed, and the group was started.
The group is still going strong. We’ve added a few members (and are looking for more), but every person in the group has lost weight. I lost over 50 pounds in 2007 and many lost a similar percentage of their body weight.
We ought to be on the cover of Men’s Health Magazine.
Like most successful self-help groups, we do not charge a fee; we simply give each other support.
We are difference from 12-step groups in that we are competitive. Every week, we each put a dollar in a pot, and the person who reports the most weight loss gets the cash. It is a motivator. I won three weeks in a row, and everyone was gunning for me on the fourth.
Motivation is the key to battling demons. I don’t know what makes a person decide to get help, but it has to come from within. Once they decide, they need the support of others and from a higher power.
People who turn to booze, drugs and other poisons use them as a substitute for something missing in their lives.
Employees with substance abuse problems create a real dilemma. In the past, I’ve had good employees suddenly become bad employees when faced with a trauma in their personal lives. They started drinking or taking medications.
It was not just Sunday morning coming down, it was Monday, Tuesday and every other day as well. They were constantly hung over.
They did not come to work drunk or stoned, but they were clearly not at the top of their game. Although we cared for them as people, the organization couldn’t carry someone who was not pulling their weight.
It is not easy to suggest that someone should start dealing with their problems. Most people with problems know they have problems. They don’t appreciate you pointing it out to them.
You don’t need to tell me I’m fat. My scale, clothes and broken chair will do that for me.
On the other hand, if you are a true friend, you want to get the person to confront their issues. Concern needs to be communicated in an effective manner.
It helps to have positive role models. Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has been an inspiration for me. He lost 100 pounds and wrote a book about it. I want to do the same thing. I’ve re-read his book several times and it gives me hope.
A struggling person needs support from other people. That is one of the reasons that groups like Alcoholics Anonymous have had tremendous success. They give members love and understanding.
The Get Fit Guys works because we root for each other and yet maintain a competitive nature.
I hope people fighting drug and alcohol problems will use the New Year as an opportunity to examine their lives and battle their demons.
It could be the last year that they face a feeling like Sunday morning coming down.
Don McNay is Chairman of McNay Settlement Group in Richmond, Ky. The Get Fit Guys Meet at 122 North Second Street in Richmond on Tuesday’s at 5 pm. You can write to Don at don@donmcnay.com or read other things he has written at www.donmcnay.com
Monday, December 31, 2007
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Don McNay's Guiliani & OxyContin columns noted in Editor and Publisher Magazine
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/syndicates/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003689897
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Joe McNay: On this Side of the Table
This Side Of The Table
“It's a lonely, lonely road we're on
This side of paradise.”
-Bryan Adams
My late father was a professional gambler. Towards the end of his life, he was active in helping at a soup kitchen in
One day, as dad was dishing out food to homeless people, my father was approached by the Sister who ran the program.
“Joe,” she said, “What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a gambler,” replied my father.
“Joe,” she said “This is the first time we ever had a gambler on this side of the table.”
The key to my father’s success was that he was always on the house side of the table. He started in bookmaking, in the glory days of
He understood that if the house has the odds in its favor long enough, the house will eventually and always win out. As he often noted, “You never see them tearing down a casino because people beat them out of money.”
First with lotteries, and now through video slots and casinos, governments realized that a very easy way to gain revenues is by allowing and sponsoring gambling.
The games that have been legalized, especially the lottery, bring in much of their income from those on “the wrong side of the table.”
Some European countries limit access to the casinos to those who prove they have sufficient assets. . Various forms of stock and option trading, which can be considered a more elite form of gambling, require that those who invest in those instruments have the net worth to survive a loss.
In my father’s era, bookmakers cut off bettors on losing streaks.
There have been few, if any, moves by states to monitor the losing of their lottery customers.
Legalized casinos, which have several games of skill and reasonable probability, gear most of their operations to the highly profitable slot machines and video games.
Lotteries have evolved from a form of gaming called “numbers,” formerly very popular in poor, urban neighborhoods. If you go into a grocery or liquor store in any poor neighborhood today, you will see people who can’t afford to lose even a few dollars, standing around playing scratch off lottery games until all of their money is gone.
I rarely if ever gamble. I can’t stand to part with my money on something that is such a bad bet.
My few trips to casinos have been bad experiences for the house. I bet very little and I am a terror at the low price buffet. I play high probability games and won’t go near a slot machine. I have a certain profit margin in mind and leave the second that I hit it. In short, I am a person casinos do not want to attract.
Making gambling illegal was an attempt to protect people from themselves.
It did not stop the tide but pushed it underground. Gambling for rich people, such as options trading and sophisticated stock market games, have always been allowed.
When I passed the stockbroker’s test many years ago, I called my father and asked, “Why is futures trading legal but betting on the Bengals illegal?” There is no logical answer.
States like
When casinos opened in nearby states, they started taking revenue from
When legislators do expand legal gambling in Kentucky, someone must think about and speak out for the person on “the wrong side of the table.”
When I was growing up, my father would go around to the sleeping room hotels and give out bottles of low cost champagne at Christmas. Just like the patrons at the soup kitchen, many of those men were gamblers and often the bottle was the only gift they got.
Legalized state gambling is not responsible for most of these people being in these positions in life, but the state needs to take extreme care that they are not the reason we are keeping them there.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Getting Out and Staying Out
Honey won’t you open that door.”
-Ricky Skaggs
I’ve devoted several columns to Rudolph Giuliani’s legal representation of the company that makes OxyContin.
Rudolph’s drug-maker clients benefited from his great connections and knowledge of the Justice Department. Knowledge he gained on the government payroll.
I’m not upset that Rudolph took the information he gained in public life and turned it to private gain. People come out of government with expertise that is valued in the private sector.
I have a problem with politicians who take a “break” from government service, load up some clients and jump back into government. It seems to happen all the time in
A potential President should not have represented the company that made OxyContin. The company made need future influence with the Justice Department and will certainly need help with the Food and Drug Administration. It is worth big money for the company to have a potential buddy in the White House.
A recent issue of Vanity Fair did a terrific job in exposing Guiliani’s clients since he left public office. Both Vanity Fair and the NBC Nightly News discussed Guiliani’s OxyContin ties but talked about a number of his questionable clients.
Guiliani’s situation is unique. He left politics but trying to get back in at the ultimate level. He left politics completely broke. He told his second wife in a 2001 divorce that he only had $7000. Five years later, it is estimated that he is worth $70 million.
If Rudolph’s company were on the stock market, it would have gained 364% EACH YEAR.
What makes Rudolph valuable to clients is that he wants to come back in as President. If he flames out in his bid for the White House, he won’t maintain that 364% rate of return.
There is a cry from “good government” people that former politicians and regulators should not go into lobbying. Some entities make ex officials wait a year or won’t let them lobby at a place they used to work for.
I’m not as concerned about the ex government people turned lobbyists. I’m worried about the system that makes those lobbyists so effective.
I just finished reading Robert Reich’s book, Supercapitalism. Reich was former Labor Secretary for President Clinton and like many around
Reich said that in the 1970’s, only 3% of retiring Congressmen became lobbyists. Now nearly 30% do. The amount of money spent on government influence is huge. Banning Congressmen from would not change the dollar amount spent on influence, it would just change who delivers the message.
Influence peddling has become a big business and one not going to be legislated away. There has to be a uprising from voters to protest the effects of big money. It won’t happen soon. People are focused on getting through their daily lives. Politicians can distract attention with social issues and it is more fun for the media to cover the exploits of Britney Spears.
Since big interest groups have influence peddling culpability and no one seems to care, you can’t pick on retired lawmakers for getting their part of the pie. If you are going to fix the system, it needs to be overhauled completely.
Giuliani’s supporters claim that I am hypocritical since I don’t have a problem with retired Congressmen turning lobbyist but I have a problem with Rudolph. They point out that many of my criminal lawyer friends represent clients who are just as scummy as the ones that Giuliani represents.
The Congressmen are retired and generally don’t plan to come back. My lawyer friends aren’t running for President of the
Rudolph is running for President of the
There is a simple solution. Tell politicians that once you are out of government and start lobbying, you are barred from coming back. That would have changed the dynamic of Giuliani’s situation. He could have stayed poor and ran for President or been a super rich lobbyist.
He couldn’t have it both ways like he has it right now.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Kentucky Lottery Winner could have stayed anonymous, says author of lottery book.
3. Take the payments over 30 years instead of the cash option. “Although more than 90% of lottery winners take the cash option, there are a number of financial planning and tax advantages to taking payments over time,” said McNay.
Articles and books to reference:
http://www.donmcnay.com/content/view/224/9/
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071214/ZONE10/71214032
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007712140416
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Could Fletcher Have Been Where Huckabee Is ?
Could Fletcher Have Been Where Huckabee Is ?
It could have been me and my dreams coming true.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
McNay & Bigler again receive highest financial services honor
McNay and Bigler again receive highest financial services honor.
Harville is an expert in providing structured settlements for workers compensation claims and serving in his seventh year at McNay Settlement Group.
Monday, November 5, 2007
McNay doing Kentucky election night commentary
McNay and Sowers will start their coverage at 7 p.m. and it can be heard on all on the stations that
Monday, October 29, 2007
My "Can You Hear Me Now" presidential campaign
My "Can You Hear Me Now" presidential campaign
And if there's anyone in space.
What they'll learn about the human race.
Will be listening to us
Talking on our car phone
-Roger McGuinn
In his book, The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman said he could run for President on one issue: Making American wireless technology as good as it is in the rest of the world.
Friedman said that if elected he would promise that within four years Americans would have cell phone coverage as good as Ghana.
In eight years we would equal Japan, provided that we made Japan stop improving their technology while we catch up.
He called it the "Can You Hear Me Now" campaign.
I've been waiting for Friedman to make his presidential move. Since he is holding back, I am borrowing his idea.
If you want better cell phone coverage, vote for me.
My campaign will be a refreshing break from the other announced candidates. I am not going to wave the flag and brag about America being first. The United States is getting its tail kicked in the battle for better communications tools.
In the technology race, the United States looks like a football game where the the world draws players from the New England Patriots and the United States get their squad from a local high school.
Instead of discussing whether Barack Obama should wear a flag on his lapel, we should make Obama and the other candidates wear a miniature cell phone. That would remind people that we have some catching up to do.
Go and visit Japan. You won't have your cell phone conversations cut off in mid sentence and you can find wireless internet wherever you go. The connections are a lot faster and reliable than anyone in the United States could imagine.
People in Japan wouldn't understand the "can you hear me now" television commercials. They can hear each other everywhere.
Americans aren't focused on my issue. Few travel the world and know how far behind weare.
The United States used to understand the need for technological advancement. Programs like the Tennessee Valley Authority and the national highway system showed vision.
We need that kind of leadership again. We don't appreciate the edge that technology can give business people.
I've had a cell phone for over 20 years. I paid thousands of dollars for my first one. I carried it in a bag larger than a suitcase. It worked in three Kentucky cities and no where else.
It wasn't a status or a novelty item. It was a valuable communications tool that gave me an edge on my competitors.
The kind of edge that other countries now have on the United States.
I used my original cell phone in my car or when I could not find a phone booth. I did not use it in church, in the middle of public meetings or while standing in the checkout line at grocery stores.
There is a segment of America that wants cell phones to go away. They probably wind up in the same grocery store lines I wind up in.
I recently stood in a line with 10 people. All of them were talking on cell phones and the clerk was talking on her cell phone, holding it to her ear as she scanned items with her other hand.
She didn't look up or engage anyone in conversation. Outside of myself, no one was going to turn off their phones and talk to her anyway.
My presidential campaign may be overlooked by people tired of idle chatter and stupid ring tones.
Ring tones might be my ticket to victory.
When people find that I can get them the neatest and coolest ring tones, it will motivate a new block of voters.
There are people who spend more time thinking about ring tones than war, famine and the economy. I understand completely. I would vote for any presidential candidate who would promise that I never have to hear the "Louie Louie" ring tone again.
Comedian Stephen Cobert is talking about running a campaign for president and only campaigning in his native state of South Carolina. I might copy his idea and run in Kentucky.
The Kentucky primary is late May, long after the presidential nominees will be decided. The vote will be completely irrelevant.
Just as irrelevant as the United States will be if we keep running technologically behind the rest of the world.
Don McNay is the Chairman of the Board for McNay Settlement Group in Richmond Kentucky and the author of Son of a Son of a Gambler: Winners, Losers and What to Do When You Win the Lottery. You can write to him at don@donmcnay.com or read other things he has written at www.donmcnay.com
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Don McNay 2007 Book Tour: Frankfort, Prestonsburg, Florence and Bowling Green this week
Don McNay's 2007 Book Tour
Frankfort, Prestonsburg, Florence & Bowling Green this week.
Don McNay will be touring Kentucky to promote his new book, Son of a Son of a Gambler: Winners, Losers and What to Do When You Win the Lottery and his 2006 book, The Unbridled World of Ernie Fletcher.
"There has a been a resurgent of interest in the Ernie Fletcher book," said McNay. "As Kentucky votes on whether to keep Governor Fletcher or select Steve Beshear as his replacement, many people are turning to my book.
McNay is also signing copies of his book, Son of a Son of a Gambler: Winners, Losers and What to Do When You Win the Lottery.
In Son of a Son of a Gambler, McNay reflects on the worlds of gambling, addiction, celebrities and business through the prism of his childhood as the son of a professional gambler.
McNay's books are available at www.donmcnay.com
McNay will be signing his book at the following locations:
Wednesday October 17. Frankfort, Ky.
"Let's Work Together" Democratic Party Rally
Boone National Guard Armory, 100 Minuteman Way, Frankfort. 5 to 6.30 PM.
Thursday, October 18 Prestonsburg, Ky.
"Let's Work Together" Democratic Party Rally
Wilkinson/Stumbo Conference Center
Jenny Wiley State Resort Park, Prestonsburg 5 to 6.30 PM
Friday, October 19 Florence, Ky.
"Let's Work Together" Democratic Party Rally
Turfway Race Course-Paddock
7500 Turfway Road, Florence 5 to 6.30 PM
Saturday October 20 Bowling Green, Ky.
"Let's Work Together" Democratic Party Rally
Beech Bend Park
798 Beech Bend Park Road, Bowling Green 5 to 6.30 PM
Wednesday October 24 Somerset, Ky.
"Let's Work Together", Democratic Party Rally
The Center for Rural Development
2292 S. Highway 27, Somerset, Ky. 5 to 6.30 PM
Thursday October 25 Louisville, Ky.
"Let's Work Together", Democratic Party Rally
UAW Gettlefinger Hall
3000 Fern Valley Road, Louisville, Ky. 5 to 6.30 PM
Friday October 26 Lexington, Ky.
"Let's Work Together", Democratic Party Rally
The Red Mile
1200 Red Mile Road, Lexington, Ky. 5 to 6.30 PM
Wednesday, October 31 Owensboro, Ky.
"Let's Work Together", Democratic Party Rally
Rally-Beshear for Governor Headquarters
335 Frederica Street, Owensboro, Ky. 5 to 6.30 PM
Saturday, November 10 Frankfort, Ky.
Kentucky Book Fair
Frankfort Convention Center.
Frankfort, Ky. 9 AM to 4.30 PM
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Don McNay 2007 Book Tour
Don McNay 2007 Book Tour
Greenup
Boone National Guard Armory,
Wilkinson/Stumbo Conference Center
Jenny Wiley
"Let's Work Together" Democratic Party Rally
Turfway Race Course—Paddock
Wednesday October 24
"Let's Work Together", Democratic Party Rally
The Center for Rural Development
2292 S. Highway 27,
UAW Gettlefinger Hall
3000 Fern Valley Road, Louisville, Ky. 5 to 6.30 PM
Friday October 26
"Let's Work Together", Democratic Party Rally
The Red Mile
Rally-Beshear for Governor Headquarters
Don McNay on Comment on Kentucky Friday October 13
Don McNay on Comment on Kentucky Friday October 13
| Sunday, 07 October 2007 | |
| Don McNay will be on Comment on Kentucky, Friday October 13. The show is broadcast live on KET-1 at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and repeats at 12.30 p.m. on Sunday. You can also watch streaming video at www.ket.org, download the show to your IPOD or watch on a podcast. |
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Lessons from Powerball Jack
Lessons from Powerball Jack
"Looking for love in all the wrong places."
- Johnny Lee
Five years after hitting the Powerball, Jack Whittaker admitted that he doesn't have any friends.
Jack doesn't have a lot going for him. He has run through millions of dollars, been involved in over 450 legal actions, had his granddaughter die of a drug overdose, had his wife file for divorce, and has been a public embarrassment.
It took years of blowing money on booze and strippers, but Jack seems to be wising up.
I read an interview where he offers other lottery winners some sound advice.
Jack's best tip was to not start giving money away. "The more you give away," he said, "the more they want you to give. And once you start giving it away, everyone labels you an easy touch and they are right there after you."
Jack found out that money can't buy you love.
People come into money unexpectedly and think their newfound money will buy them respect.
Instead, it buys them a lack of respect. A person with a soft touch is seen as a "mark" by con artists or "friends" with an entitlement mentality.
Those wanting handouts try to befriend the Jack Whitaker's of the world. They figure a guy like Jack won't miss a million dollars or so.
People who didn't like you before you had money won't suddenly start to like you when you are rich. They may like your checkbook, but they don't like you.
At some level, Jack figured it out early on. He walked into strip clubs with hundreds of thousands of dollars. The strippers may have appealed to various parts of Jack's anatomy, but they were only concerned with Jack's wallet. Jack knew their motives, but he didn't care.
Now, the money is gone and so are his fast money "friends." I hope Jack enjoyed it but it doesn't sound like he did.
Jack understands that he screwed up big time stating, "I'm only going to be remembered as that lunatic who won the lottery."
He is absolutely right.
He set up the Jack Whittaker Foundation, which built churches and gave out college scholarships. He made a positive impact on a lot of people, but no one is going to remember that. They are only going to remember all his screw ups.
If Jack had been smart, he would have given a big, tax-deductible, chunk of money to the foundation. Then he could have told all the beggars and borrowers wanting money that they needed to qualify for a foundation grant. The foundation would have decided which cause was worthy and which was not.
I doubt that strippers would be on the list.
If Jack's friends needed to borrow money that is what banks are for. Every city has one. Banks understand the criteria for making a loan and the likelihood of it being paid back.
Banks know a lot more about lending than individual people do. When people ask me for a loan or try to borrow money from my clients, I send them to a bank. Banks are in the lending business and I am not.
When Jack became the personal banker for his friends, he lost his money and his friends.
I understand why people give money to friends and relatives. They love the people and want to help them.
They are using the wrong device to show love.
There is a scene in the movie, Oh God, where a televangelist told his flock, "I want to talk about the kind of love where you reach down in your pocket and dig DEEP!"
Like the movie character, too many people equate love with receiving gifts and too many people equate showing love with how much money they spend.
Powerball Jack learned about love the hard way. Before he won the lottery, he had a wife and a granddaughter. His wife left and his granddaughter is dead. As Jack admitted, none of his "friends" from the strip club are hanging around anymore.
He learned that by looking for love in all the wrong places, he lost the real love he had at home.
He has gotten the message but at a terrible cost.
Story Behind the Song
"Looking for Love" was the biggest hit from the Urban Cowboy soundtrack. It was one of the best movie soundtracks ever recorded. Ironically, it was for a terrible movie that almost destroyed John Travolta's career.
Although Debra Winger was incredible and the movie made her a huge star, Travolta, was terribly miscast in a part that originally was supposed to go to Dennis Quaid.
I am a huge John Travolta fan and have seen Saturday Night Fever over 40 times. I can't make it through Urban Cowboy. Mike Behler, my college roommate, described it as "Vinnie Barbareno goes to Texas" and Mike hit it right on the head.
"Looking for Love" made Johnny Lee a brief star and is one of those songs you either love or really hate. I love it, like I do every song on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack.
The Poll
The following are the results from the last poll:
1. What is your primary source of news?
Internet - 60.0%
Newspapers - 20.0%
Radio - 13.3%
Television - 6.7%
Other - 0.0%
2. How many newspapers do you subscribe to?
None - 55.0%
Two - 25.9%
One - 14.8%
Three or more - 3.7%
This week there are two poll questions:
1. Do you loan money to your friends?
2. If you won the lottery, what percentage would you give to charity?
To vote in this week's poll follow the link below. The poll will be on the left hand side of the web page.
Weekly Poll
Don McNay is the author of Son of a Son of a Gambler: Winners, Losers, and What to Do You When You Win the Lottery. The book is available at http://sonofagambler.com/. You can write to Don at don@donmcnay.com and read other things he has written at http://donmcnay.com/. McNay's award winning syndicated column appears in over 200 publications.
"Looking for love in all the wrong places."
- Johnny Lee
Five years after hitting the Powerball, Jack Whittaker admitted that he doesn't have any friends.Jack doesn't have a lot going for him. He has run through millions of dollars, been involved in over 450 legal actions, had his granddaughter die of a drug overdose, had his wife file for divorce, and has been a public embarrassment.
It took years of blowing money on booze and strippers, but Jack seems to be wising up.
I read an interview where he offers other lottery winners some sound advice.
Jack's best tip was to not start giving money away. "The more you give away," he said, "the more they want you to give. And once you start giving it away, everyone labels you an easy touch and they are right there after you."
Jack found out that money can't buy you love.
People come into money unexpectedly and think their newfound money will buy them respect.
Instead, it buys them a lack of respect. A person with a soft touch is seen as a "mark" by con artists or "friends" with an entitlement mentality.
Those wanting handouts try to befriend the Jack Whitaker's of the world. They figure a guy like Jack won't miss a million dollars or so.
People who didn't like you before you had money won't suddenly start to like you when you are rich. They may like your checkbook, but they don't like you.
At some level, Jack figured it out early on. He walked into strip clubs with hundreds of thousands of dollars. The strippers may have appealed to various parts of Jack's anatomy, but they were only concerned with Jack's wallet. Jack knew their motives, but he didn't care.
Now, the money is gone and so are his fast money "friends." I hope Jack enjoyed it but it doesn't sound like he did.
Jack understands that he screwed up big time stating, "I'm only going to be remembered as that lunatic who won the lottery."
He is absolutely right.
He set up the Jack Whittaker Foundation, which built churches and gave out college scholarships. He made a positive impact on a lot of people, but no one is going to remember that. They are only going to remember all his screw ups.
If Jack had been smart, he would have given a big, tax-deductible, chunk of money to the foundation. Then he could have told all the beggars and borrowers wanting money that they needed to qualify for a foundation grant. The foundation would have decided which cause was worthy and which was not.
I doubt that strippers would be on the list.
If Jack's friends needed to borrow money that is what banks are for. Every city has one. Banks understand the criteria for making a loan and the likelihood of it being paid back.
Banks know a lot more about lending than individual people do. When people ask me for a loan or try to borrow money from my clients, I send them to a bank. Banks are in the lending business and I am not.
When Jack became the personal banker for his friends, he lost his money and his friends.
I understand why people give money to friends and relatives. They love the people and want to help them.
They are using the wrong device to show love.
There is a scene in the movie, Oh God, where a televangelist told his flock, "I want to talk about the kind of love where you reach down in your pocket and dig DEEP!"
Like the movie character, too many people equate love with receiving gifts and too many people equate showing love with how much money they spend.
Powerball Jack learned about love the hard way. Before he won the lottery, he had a wife and a granddaughter. His wife left and his granddaughter is dead. As Jack admitted, none of his "friends" from the strip club are hanging around anymore.
He learned that by looking for love in all the wrong places, he lost the real love he had at home.
He has gotten the message but at a terrible cost.
Story Behind the Song
"Looking for Love" was the biggest hit from the Urban Cowboy soundtrack. It was one of the best movie soundtracks ever recorded. Ironically, it was for a terrible movie that almost destroyed John Travolta's career.Although Debra Winger was incredible and the movie made her a huge star, Travolta, was terribly miscast in a part that originally was supposed to go to Dennis Quaid.
I am a huge John Travolta fan and have seen Saturday Night Fever over 40 times. I can't make it through Urban Cowboy. Mike Behler, my college roommate, described it as "Vinnie Barbareno goes to Texas" and Mike hit it right on the head.
"Looking for Love" made Johnny Lee a brief star and is one of those songs you either love or really hate. I love it, like I do every song on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack.
The Poll
The following are the results from the last poll:
1. What is your primary source of news?
Internet - 60.0%
Newspapers - 20.0%
Radio - 13.3%
Television - 6.7%
Other - 0.0%
2. How many newspapers do you subscribe to?
None - 55.0%
Two - 25.9%
One - 14.8%
Three or more - 3.7%
This week there are two poll questions:
1. Do you loan money to your friends?
2. If you won the lottery, what percentage would you give to charity?
To vote in this week's poll follow the link below. The poll will be on the left hand side of the web page.
Weekly Poll
Don McNay is the author of Son of a Son of a Gambler: Winners, Losers, and What to Do You When You Win the Lottery. The book is available at http://sonofagambler.com/. You can write to Don at don@donmcnay.com and read other things he has written at http://donmcnay.com/. McNay's award winning syndicated column appears in over 200 publications.
My 25th Anniversary: Reflections on 25 Years in the Financial World
McNay on Money
My 25th Anniversary: Reflections on 25 Years in the Financial World
"For 25 years of touring, we remained partners, brothers, and friends. We keep it together because we think we could be big time before it all ends."
-Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
September 22nd marks the 25th anniversary of the day I joined the financial business. I was 23, right out of grad school at Vanderbilt, after a stop on the clean up crew at the Kentucky horse park.
The Dow Jones average was hovering around 1000, interest rates were in the double digits and we were in the midst of a horrible recession. Tax rates had approached 70% for some people.
Almost everyone told me it was a terrible time to get into the financial business. They were wrong. I started at the bottom and rode the wave upward.
My first clients, the few who would talk to a 23-year-old with no experience, did incredibly well as the economy improved and more opportunities became available.
It has been a very good run.
The defining moment of those 25 years was the 1987 stock market crash.
I had about 400 clients on Black Monday. I talked to almost every one that day and only four pulled their money out of the market. They got burned. The rest did extremely well and many are still clients today.
Although the stock market crashed in 1987, the bond market went dramatically up on the same day. People in fixed investments, like annuities or certificates of deposit, remained fixed. They did not lose any money or any sleep.
The 1987 meltdown was a great lesson. My clients learned to stay calm during fear and irrational panic. They learned the value of being diversified in the first place.
It was harder to communicate in 1987. We did not have email or the Internet. Only a few people had fax machines. I got my immediate news from cable television. I watched FNN, a forerunner to CNBC and Moneyline, with Lou Dobbs on CNN.
Many people did not know about the drop in the stock market until they read the newspaper the next day.
Today, very few daily newspapers carry stock market quotes. It is easier to track investments on the Internet.
This week, when the Federal Reserve got in touch with the real world and cut interest rates, the announcement made it around the world in seconds and the Dow Jones average immediately jumped over 300 points. If Bernanke and his crew had done something stupid, which had previously been their pattern, stocks would have dropped in that same warp speed.
The key to doing well in a rapidly changing world is having clear goals and sticking to them. I've been reading a tremendous book called Poker Nation and it had an interesting point. The key to success in gambling is the same key in money management. You have to ignore the ups and downs of each day and look at the long term trend.
Casinos keep making money as they know the long term trend favors them. Individual investors do well when they stay focused on the long term too.
Like the song says, if you keep it together, you might be big time before it all ends.
Like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, I plan on being big time and will give you another report at the end of the next 25-year run.
"For 25 years of touring, we remained partners, brothers, and friends. We keep it together because we think we could be big time before it all ends."
-Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
September 22nd marks the 25th anniversary of the day I joined the financial business. I was 23, right out of grad school at Vanderbilt, after a stop on the clean up crew at the Kentucky horse park.The Dow Jones average was hovering around 1000, interest rates were in the double digits and we were in the midst of a horrible recession. Tax rates had approached 70% for some people.
Almost everyone told me it was a terrible time to get into the financial business. They were wrong. I started at the bottom and rode the wave upward.
My first clients, the few who would talk to a 23-year-old with no experience, did incredibly well as the economy improved and more opportunities became available.
It has been a very good run.
The defining moment of those 25 years was the 1987 stock market crash.
I had about 400 clients on Black Monday. I talked to almost every one that day and only four pulled their money out of the market. They got burned. The rest did extremely well and many are still clients today.
Although the stock market crashed in 1987, the bond market went dramatically up on the same day. People in fixed investments, like annuities or certificates of deposit, remained fixed. They did not lose any money or any sleep.
The 1987 meltdown was a great lesson. My clients learned to stay calm during fear and irrational panic. They learned the value of being diversified in the first place.
It was harder to communicate in 1987. We did not have email or the Internet. Only a few people had fax machines. I got my immediate news from cable television. I watched FNN, a forerunner to CNBC and Moneyline, with Lou Dobbs on CNN.
Many people did not know about the drop in the stock market until they read the newspaper the next day.
Today, very few daily newspapers carry stock market quotes. It is easier to track investments on the Internet.
This week, when the Federal Reserve got in touch with the real world and cut interest rates, the announcement made it around the world in seconds and the Dow Jones average immediately jumped over 300 points. If Bernanke and his crew had done something stupid, which had previously been their pattern, stocks would have dropped in that same warp speed.
The key to doing well in a rapidly changing world is having clear goals and sticking to them. I've been reading a tremendous book called Poker Nation and it had an interesting point. The key to success in gambling is the same key in money management. You have to ignore the ups and downs of each day and look at the long term trend.
Casinos keep making money as they know the long term trend favors them. Individual investors do well when they stay focused on the long term too.
Like the song says, if you keep it together, you might be big time before it all ends.
Like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, I plan on being big time and will give you another report at the end of the next 25-year run.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Son of a Son of a Gambler
Son of a Son of a Gambler: Winners, Losers, and What to Do When You Win the Lottery
Published by RRP International
Advanced copies of Son of a Son of a Gambler: Winners, Losers, and What to Do When You Win the Lottery are available now. There are only a limited number of advanced copies available and orders are limited to four books per person. You will only be able to get this limited edition copy through the link below until November 1, 2007 when the book goes on sale in bookstores and everywhere else. All advanced copies are autographed and sure to be a collector's item!http://www.sonofagambler.com
Al Smith and Transitions
Al Smith and Transitions
"Keep on rockin' in the free world."
-Neil Young
Al Smith, my mentor in all aspects of life, was going through a list of things that he plans to do in the next year. He concluded by telling me, "It is better to wear out than rust out."
I don't see any signs of Al doing either. He is 80 on the calendar but 16 in his heart. I can't keep up at his pace. I don't know many people who can.
November is when Al is going to make a life change. He is ending his over 30-year career as host of Kentucky Educational Television's longest running show, Comment on Kentucky. His last show will be November 16th.
I am a frequent guest on the show and love the energy and preparation that Al brings to the production. He spends countless hours prepping guests and tracking down breaking news.
Viewers get information they cannot find elsewhere. No one can calculate the show's influence on Kentucky's history. Many a journalistic career, including mine, has been launched or enhanced by a Comment on Kentucky appearance.
I am glad that Al is leaving at the top of his game. He set his own terms and gave everyone time to prepare.
It reminds me a lot of when Johnny Carson left The Tonight Show. Carson left in good health and at the top of the ratings. He went out with class and dignity, just like Al will.
He is leaving his successor an incredibly loyal audience and a legacy. Like Jay Leno, following Carson, it could be that the transition to a different host works well, or it could be like when Louis Rukeyser left Wall Street Week and the show quickly died. The audience wanted Louis and no one else.
A lot depends on how the transfer is coordinated.
Although Al is normally the teacher and me the student, the transition of Comment is a situation where I can provide my mentor with advice.
I have had my own business transition.
Exactly twenty-five years ago, I started in the financial planning industry. Shortly after, I started my own business focused around my persona and image. My name, picture, and penguin mascot are on everything.
Just like Donald Trump, Charles Schwab, or Oprah, the business was based around one personality. A lot like Comment on Kentucky is.
Last year, we made a change in how we manage the business. I see more clients than I ever did but I don't run business operations. I spend more time writing and doing research.
It took some adjustment but the business has prospered and has had record growth.
I had advantages that Al doesn't. I got to pick my successors and he does not. Each member of my senior management team had over a decade of experience with the company and literally "grew up" with the business.
I assume the next Comment host will be a veteran journalist who has frequently appeared on the show. It would be a gamble to make a format change or bring in an outside host. Katie Couric's failed attempt to revamp the CBS Evening News proved that news audiences don't want a lot of change.
Al has never shied away from taking a stand. Even though the show is on public television, Al has always pointed out the failings of office holders and his audience appreciates his candor. A host that tries to "water down" the show to please politicians will find audiences quickly tuning out.
A guy who won't be tuning out is Al Smith. On or off the air, he will be as busy as ever. I pointed out to Al that based on his health, energy, and family history, he could easily be active for another twenty years. Until I recently made some weight and lifestyle changes, he had a longer life expectancy than I do, despite his 32-year head start.
When Al made his "better to wear out than rust out" statement, I thought of Neil Young's line, "better to burn out than it is to rust." I don't see Al burning out or rusting.
He will be rocking in the free world for a long time to come.
The Poll
The following are the results from the last poll:
1. Have you ever invited a neighbor to share a holiday with you?
Yes - 56.5%
No - 43.5%
2. What is your favorite holiday?
Other - 28.6%
Christmas - 25.0%
Thanksgiving - 25.0%
Fourth of July - 21.4%
This week there are two poll questions:
1. What is your primary source of news?
2. How many newspapers do you subscribe to?
To vote in this week's poll follow the link below. The poll will be on the left hand side of the web page.
http://www.donmcnay.com/
Don McNay is Chairman of the Board at McNay Settlement Group and author of Son of a Son of a Gambler, Winners, Losers, and What to Do When You Win The Lottery, which is available at http://www.sonofagambler.com. You can write to him at don@donmcnay.com or read other things he has written at http://www.donmcnay.com.
"Keep on rockin' in the free world."
-Neil Young
Al Smith, my mentor in all aspects of life, was going through a list of things that he plans to do in the next year. He concluded by telling me, "It is better to wear out than rust out."I don't see any signs of Al doing either. He is 80 on the calendar but 16 in his heart. I can't keep up at his pace. I don't know many people who can.
November is when Al is going to make a life change. He is ending his over 30-year career as host of Kentucky Educational Television's longest running show, Comment on Kentucky. His last show will be November 16th.
I am a frequent guest on the show and love the energy and preparation that Al brings to the production. He spends countless hours prepping guests and tracking down breaking news.
Viewers get information they cannot find elsewhere. No one can calculate the show's influence on Kentucky's history. Many a journalistic career, including mine, has been launched or enhanced by a Comment on Kentucky appearance.
I am glad that Al is leaving at the top of his game. He set his own terms and gave everyone time to prepare.
It reminds me a lot of when Johnny Carson left The Tonight Show. Carson left in good health and at the top of the ratings. He went out with class and dignity, just like Al will.
He is leaving his successor an incredibly loyal audience and a legacy. Like Jay Leno, following Carson, it could be that the transition to a different host works well, or it could be like when Louis Rukeyser left Wall Street Week and the show quickly died. The audience wanted Louis and no one else.
A lot depends on how the transfer is coordinated.
Although Al is normally the teacher and me the student, the transition of Comment is a situation where I can provide my mentor with advice.
I have had my own business transition.
Exactly twenty-five years ago, I started in the financial planning industry. Shortly after, I started my own business focused around my persona and image. My name, picture, and penguin mascot are on everything.
Just like Donald Trump, Charles Schwab, or Oprah, the business was based around one personality. A lot like Comment on Kentucky is.
Last year, we made a change in how we manage the business. I see more clients than I ever did but I don't run business operations. I spend more time writing and doing research.
It took some adjustment but the business has prospered and has had record growth.
I had advantages that Al doesn't. I got to pick my successors and he does not. Each member of my senior management team had over a decade of experience with the company and literally "grew up" with the business.
I assume the next Comment host will be a veteran journalist who has frequently appeared on the show. It would be a gamble to make a format change or bring in an outside host. Katie Couric's failed attempt to revamp the CBS Evening News proved that news audiences don't want a lot of change.
Al has never shied away from taking a stand. Even though the show is on public television, Al has always pointed out the failings of office holders and his audience appreciates his candor. A host that tries to "water down" the show to please politicians will find audiences quickly tuning out.
A guy who won't be tuning out is Al Smith. On or off the air, he will be as busy as ever. I pointed out to Al that based on his health, energy, and family history, he could easily be active for another twenty years. Until I recently made some weight and lifestyle changes, he had a longer life expectancy than I do, despite his 32-year head start.
When Al made his "better to wear out than rust out" statement, I thought of Neil Young's line, "better to burn out than it is to rust." I don't see Al burning out or rusting.
He will be rocking in the free world for a long time to come.
The Poll
The following are the results from the last poll:
1. Have you ever invited a neighbor to share a holiday with you?
Yes - 56.5%
No - 43.5%
2. What is your favorite holiday?
Other - 28.6%
Christmas - 25.0%
Thanksgiving - 25.0%
Fourth of July - 21.4%
This week there are two poll questions:
1. What is your primary source of news?
2. How many newspapers do you subscribe to?
To vote in this week's poll follow the link below. The poll will be on the left hand side of the web page.
http://www.donmcnay.com/
Don McNay is Chairman of the Board at McNay Settlement Group and author of Son of a Son of a Gambler, Winners, Losers, and What to Do When You Win The Lottery, which is available at http://www.sonofagambler.com. You can write to him at don@donmcnay.com or read other things he has written at http://www.donmcnay.com.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Can You Handle Being Self-Employed?
Can You Handle Being Self-Employed?
"It's only half past twelve, but I don't care. It's five o' clock somewhere."
- Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett
Five o'clock is important to many people. It is the time that they leave their jobs and stop thinking about work.
Five o'clock has never been a big deal for me. I've been self-employed for 25 years, and my work does not conform to a time clock.
My father was a gambler and never lived a nine to five life. Thus, I never grew up wanting one.
Several of my clients are trial attorneys. Along with the bond of working with injured people, we have another common tie: we don't know when we are going to be paid.
The book and movie A Civil Action is a good example of how an attorney can go broke working on an important case.
Many professionals, like real estate agents and others in the sales industry, have the same kind of up-and-down incomes.
Few people are suited to be their own boss. Most people want a regular work routine. Their lives are based on a 40-hour work week and a steady paycheck.
When people tell me they want to start their own business, I ask them if they can really live without a regular income. I tell them to talk to their families and get their honest answers. I ask them if they could stand to go weeks or months without money coming in and how they would deal with it.
They need to understand they are trading their steady paycheck for an "unsteady paycheck."
Many people want their own businesses for the wrong reasons. Like the character in the Jackson song, people decide that they don't like their jobs and that it would be fun to be self-employed.
They don't realize that self-employment means that it is never five o'clock anywhere.
I've told many professionals that they should not go into business for themselves. They may be good workers with good ideas, but they could not handle the stress from not having a guaranteed income.
Never being off work can be hard on families. I had a friend try to be an independent insurance agent. He worked a lot of hours and his wife put their children on the phone and had them say how much they missed him.
He went back to a steady paycheck at a big insurance company. He has less independence but he is still married.
Some people, like me, became self-employed because no large organization would hire them. Once I started my financial business, I realized that I needed the independence of being self-employed more than I needed a steady paycheck.
I had a brief career at a company that decided to impose a dress code. I immediately started coming to work wearing blue jeans, a tee shirt, and a Cincinnati Reds baseball cap.
I killed the dress code and any hope of my advancement at the same time. I went back to working on my own.
Education and upbringing are important in deciding whether a person can make it as an entrepreneur. I was with Barbourville, Ky. attorney Sam Davies when a woman told him that she was sending her son to military school. "He will learn how to follow the rules," she said. Sam replied, "He would be better off if he found a school where they taught him how not to follow the rules."
Sam, who has never had a partner, is one of the best attorneys in the United States. Many trial lawyers practice by themselves or with a few associates. Most have the same anti-authority attitude that I have.
The attitude that makes them unafraid to take on billion-dollar businesses makes it impossible for them to fit into a big corporation.
They produce an "unsteady paycheck," and they never know when five o'clock rolls around.
Before a person decides on self employment, they need to figure out how important five o' clock is in their lives.
Story Behind the Song
It's Five O'clock Somewhere
This song was a monster hit that seems to hit a nerve. Also, it brought Jimmy Buffett back on the popular charts about 25 years after his last visit on the top 20.
Here is a link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib8nH4kHjxk
- Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett
Five o'clock is important to many people. It is the time that they leave their jobs and stop thinking about work.
Five o'clock has never been a big deal for me. I've been self-employed for 25 years, and my work does not conform to a time clock.
My father was a gambler and never lived a nine to five life. Thus, I never grew up wanting one.
Several of my clients are trial attorneys. Along with the bond of working with injured people, we have another common tie: we don't know when we are going to be paid.
The book and movie A Civil Action is a good example of how an attorney can go broke working on an important case.Many professionals, like real estate agents and others in the sales industry, have the same kind of up-and-down incomes.
Few people are suited to be their own boss. Most people want a regular work routine. Their lives are based on a 40-hour work week and a steady paycheck.
When people tell me they want to start their own business, I ask them if they can really live without a regular income. I tell them to talk to their families and get their honest answers. I ask them if they could stand to go weeks or months without money coming in and how they would deal with it.
They need to understand they are trading their steady paycheck for an "unsteady paycheck."
Many people want their own businesses for the wrong reasons. Like the character in the Jackson song, people decide that they don't like their jobs and that it would be fun to be self-employed.
They don't realize that self-employment means that it is never five o'clock anywhere.
I've told many professionals that they should not go into business for themselves. They may be good workers with good ideas, but they could not handle the stress from not having a guaranteed income.
Never being off work can be hard on families. I had a friend try to be an independent insurance agent. He worked a lot of hours and his wife put their children on the phone and had them say how much they missed him.
He went back to a steady paycheck at a big insurance company. He has less independence but he is still married.
Some people, like me, became self-employed because no large organization would hire them. Once I started my financial business, I realized that I needed the independence of being self-employed more than I needed a steady paycheck.
I had a brief career at a company that decided to impose a dress code. I immediately started coming to work wearing blue jeans, a tee shirt, and a Cincinnati Reds baseball cap.
I killed the dress code and any hope of my advancement at the same time. I went back to working on my own.
Education and upbringing are important in deciding whether a person can make it as an entrepreneur. I was with Barbourville, Ky. attorney Sam Davies when a woman told him that she was sending her son to military school. "He will learn how to follow the rules," she said. Sam replied, "He would be better off if he found a school where they taught him how not to follow the rules."
Sam, who has never had a partner, is one of the best attorneys in the United States. Many trial lawyers practice by themselves or with a few associates. Most have the same anti-authority attitude that I have.
The attitude that makes them unafraid to take on billion-dollar businesses makes it impossible for them to fit into a big corporation.
They produce an "unsteady paycheck," and they never know when five o'clock rolls around.
Before a person decides on self employment, they need to figure out how important five o' clock is in their lives.
Story Behind the Song
It's Five O'clock Somewhere
This song was a monster hit that seems to hit a nerve. Also, it brought Jimmy Buffett back on the popular charts about 25 years after his last visit on the top 20.Here is a link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib8nH4kHjxk
Don McNay is Chairman of the Board for McNay Settlement Group in Richmond, Ky. He is the author of the soon to be released book: Son of a Son of a Gambler: Winners, Losers and What to Do When You Win the Lottery. You can write to him at don@mcnay.com or read other things he has written at www.donmcnay.com. His award winning column is syndicated to over 200 publications.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Birdbrain Bernanke
McNay on Money
People think I am hard on Federal Reserve Chair, Ben Bernanke, but I am beginning to think that I am not hard enough. I want for the world to avoid being plunged into worldwide panic, famine, and devastation.
Bernanke seems determined to do the opposite; look at the recent activity in the markets.
I do not think Ben is evil nor has an economic death wish; I think he is totally clueless. We could have picked any person working in a 9 to 5 job, and they would make a better Federal Reserve Chair.
Some people, like myself and Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning, were saying this before Bernanke got the job. However, the United States Senate was clueless as to what kind of person should have the most important economic job in the world, and they let Ben sail through the confirmation hearings.
The key to being a good fed chair is being in touch with where we are and where we are going. Ben spent all of his life in an ivory tower and does not have an idea what it is like in the real world. He thinks hardship is when they run out of clean silver spoons at the Princeton Faculty Club dining room.
I would love for people to ask their United States Senators why they voted to confirm Bernanke and if they stand behind that vote now. I think that Bunning was the only one to vote against Ben.
There is an excellent article in the Wall Street Journal this week about when Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's, interviewed their current CEO, who is an MBA and a CPA. Thomas told her, "You cannot think like an accountant. You have to take care of your customer."
If Thomas were alive today, he would tell Bernacke, "Ben, you can't think like an academic, you have to take care of the American people."
I would feel a lot happier with a guy like Dave Thomas, who was a high school dropout, running the Federal Reserve Board than Ben. Ben has more degrees than a thermometer but doesn't understand the concept of taking care of the people he was appointed to serve.
This incident is the epitome of how out of touch Bernanke and his band of followers on the fed are:
Fed Underestimated Spread of Debt Crisis, Worried About Prices
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aYrqhzCehuJM&refer=home
Here are some previous columns I have written on Ben Bernanke:
Big Shot Bernanke
Nice Guys Make Lousy Senators
The Labor Day Holiday and Santa Claus is Coming to Town
The Labor Day Holiday and Santa Claus is Coming to Town
"This is for all the lonely people thinking that life has passed them by."
-America
On a long holiday weekend, like Labor Day, it is easy to forget about people who don't have family or close friends.
Several years ago, I lived on a rural road and a divorced man lived nearby. On every holiday or long weekend, he would lock himself in his house and play loud music all day. He never played music any other time.
He was trying to ignore the holiday.
We always invited him to our house and he always refused. It was easier for him to ignore the day instead of spending it with people having a good time.
He was my reminder that holiday weekends are not joyous for everyone.
Some people never have a family connection. Every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, my late father would go to a "sleeping room" hotel in downtown Cincinnati and hand out cheap bottles of champagne.
The men (I never saw any women) were poor and usually drunks. Dad had come from a similar neighborhood and had done well. The men were proud of Dad's success and appreciated that he remembered them.
Dad took my sister and me to glimpse a world quite different from our suburban home.
Dad's gift was often the only one the men received. I'm not sure giving champagne to alcoholics was a great idea, but it was something they appreciated.
It always struck me that those poor and lonely men loved the seasonal holidays. They would dress up in their nicest clothes and come down in the lobby or hang out on the street.
Dad's gesture meant a lot to men struggling to get through life.
It's easy to forget that there are people who would be thrilled to have a bottle of $3 champagne.
"This is for all the lonely people thinking that life has passed them by."
-America
On a long holiday weekend, like Labor Day, it is easy to forget about people who don't have family or close friends.Several years ago, I lived on a rural road and a divorced man lived nearby. On every holiday or long weekend, he would lock himself in his house and play loud music all day. He never played music any other time.
He was trying to ignore the holiday.
We always invited him to our house and he always refused. It was easier for him to ignore the day instead of spending it with people having a good time.
He was my reminder that holiday weekends are not joyous for everyone.
Some people never have a family connection. Every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, my late father would go to a "sleeping room" hotel in downtown Cincinnati and hand out cheap bottles of champagne.
The men (I never saw any women) were poor and usually drunks. Dad had come from a similar neighborhood and had done well. The men were proud of Dad's success and appreciated that he remembered them.
Dad took my sister and me to glimpse a world quite different from our suburban home.
Dad's gift was often the only one the men received. I'm not sure giving champagne to alcoholics was a great idea, but it was something they appreciated.
It always struck me that those poor and lonely men loved the seasonal holidays. They would dress up in their nicest clothes and come down in the lobby or hang out on the street.
Dad's gesture meant a lot to men struggling to get through life.
It's easy to forget that there are people who would be thrilled to have a bottle of $3 champagne.
My father also made holiday visits to one of the richest men in Cincinnati. He was also one of the loneliest. He had flunkies but did not have any friends. He had alienated his children and was a tough guy to get along with.
Dad visited him on a regular basis.
Dad would bring him a copy of the Racing Form, and they would discuss the horses. The few minutes of human interaction made the man's day. He would occasionally turn off his gruff persona and become sweet and kind.
My father was practically an orphan, and it gave him an appreciation for the people society had forgotten, on both sides of the tracks. Lonely people often put on a tough exterior and it is hard to reach them.
It is definitely worth the effort.
Giving and paying homage is what every holiday, even the "minor" holidays, are supposed to be about. The giver gets more than the person who receives.
When I was very young, songwriter Haven Gillespie used to frequent my father's bar. Gillespie wrote many famous songs including, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."
If a child sang "Santa Claus," Mr. Gillespie gave the child a silver dollar.
I sang the song every time I saw him. It was a sure money maker but even at age 6 or 7, I realized that Mr Gillespie took great joy in giving the silver dollar.
He liked that his song was famous, but he really liked that he had money to share. Giving is what made the holidays for him.
More people die of loneliness than any disease. Reaching out to someone could make a major difference in their life. It is also a blessing for the giver.
During the holiday weekend and all year round, we need to show lonely people that life has not passed them by.
The Poll
The following are the results from last week's poll:
1. Should tournament poker games be legal or illegal?
Legal - 76%
Illegal - 16%
Undecided - 8%
2. Should prostitution be legal or illegal?
Legal - 60%
Undecided - 24%
Illegal - 16%
This week there are two poll questions:
1. Have you ever invited a neighbor to share a holiday with you?
2. What is your favorite holiday?
To vote in this week's poll follow the link below. The poll will be on the left hand side of the web page.
Weekly Poll
UPDATE:
Son of a Son of a Gambler: Winners, Losers, and What to Do When You Win the Lottery
Son of a Son of a Gambler is on its way to the publisher. We will release information next week on how you can own a copy of a limited first print copy of the book.
Son of a Son of a Gambler is on its way to the publisher. We will release information next week on how you can own a copy of a limited first print copy of the book.
Don McNay is the Chairman of the Board for McNay Settlement Group in Richmond, Ky. He is author of the soon to be published book: Son of a Son of a Gambler, Winners, Losers, and What to Do When You Win the Lottery. You can write to him at don@donmcnay.com or read other things he has written at www.donmcnay.com. Don's award winning column is syndicated to over 200 publications.
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