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The Daily Dose/April 2, 2010
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
Notes from around the Human Experience...
OH, JESUS H: After some discussion, The Woman and I decided to invest the mason jar change in the stock market. This came about because The Woman, a moderately accomplished reader, had read a biography of Warren Buffet and then started making noises about investing.
To make it seem as if Fate was on our side on this one and the imprimatur of the God's was merely awaiting final approval of the Holy Spirit, The Woman had, by coincidence, professional contact with a certain company whose stock symbol turned out to be BEHL. Following her instructions, I did some research on BEHL and discovered one (1) share of their stock could be had for less than a penny, roughly 8.5 tenths of cent.
A Warm, Personal Remembrance: Even someone with zero (0) financial acumen such as myself was smart enough to realize this was something we didn't want to stake a whole lot of money in. Ages ago I had a job at an Internet company (PFER) where the stock price sank like a stone to below a dollar and once it got below a buck campers that was it, point, set and match, it was all over. It was rather bad for morale and it the stock price never came close to getting back to over a dollar.
Due Diligence: But it is not completely unheard of to make a buck or two off of penny stocks, and further research revealed that not only did the company have a website but a phone number as well and before you could say "The Dow finished lower in mixed trading today" we were proud new owners of BEHL stock.
Oh Yeah: We also threw some loose change at a holding company that had recently had the good sense to also purchase a stake in BEHL thereby ensuring that when BEHL went completely in the tank we'd lose even more money.
Vegas Bay-Bee: We also tried a hostile takeover of Las Vegas Sands (LVS), but were obliged to settle for a more modest position.
FunFact: Shares in Buffet's company, Berkshire Hathaway, closed at $122,419.99 Thursday, up over $600. We are not making that up. Our nest egg was up a few bucks, and overall is showing a robust return of over eight percent so far.
WHERE'S THE NEAREST WAFFLE HOUSE? Ponce de Leon becomes the first known European to set foot in what is now Florida on this date in 1513. de Leon, a Spaniard, had left Puerto Rico four weeks earlier and would return in October. He would return to Florida in 1521, when his expedition was attacked by Indians, with de Leon taking an arrow. He fled to Cuba where he died of his injuries.
In God We Trust: The United States Mint is created by an act of Congress on this date in 1792. Additionally, the Coinage Act of 1792 established the dollar as the monetary unit of the United States and made it lawful tender.
If Mama Aint Happy…: Women in various cities throughout the Confederacy protest the lack of food on this date in 1863.
Food was scarce because both Union and Confederate troops had converted Southern crops and animals to rations, leaving little remaining for civilians. At a demonstration in the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, President Jefferson Davis resorted to throwing money at female demonstrators.
Oh I Wish I Was In Dixie: Two years later, on this date in 1865, with the Civil War winding down, Davis and his Cabinet would flee Richmond.
More Hot Congressional Action: Congress passes an act giving newly-acquired Puerto Rico limited self-rule on this date in 1900 The Foraker Act called for a president and an executive council appointed by the President of the United States, as well as an elected, 35-member House of Representatives and gave the island a non-voting delegate to the US House of Representatives. In 1917 Puerto Ricans would be granted U.S. citizenship and in 1948 they were allowed to elect their governor.
Send In The Puerto Ricans, They're Citizen's Now: President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war on Germany on this date in 1917. Congress would comply on April 6, marking America's entry into World War I.
As Long As We're Here: Montana's Jeannette Rankin becomes the first elected woman to be seated in the US House of Representatives on this date in 1917.
We'll Be Back After A Word From Our Sponsor: Two long running soap operas, The Edge of Night and As The World Turns, debut on CBS on this date in 1956, becoming the first half-hour daytime dramas.
The Edge of Night would air until December, 1984, while As The World Turns is still in the air, thought it is scheduled to be canceled in September.
Throw Away The Key: Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering in US District Court on this date in 1992. In June Gotti was sentenced to life imprisonment. He died in prison in 2002.
Thought For The Day: Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore ourselves? - Friedrich Nietzsche
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Volleyball originated in Holyoke, Massachusetts in February, 1895.
Today's Stumper: Where was the first Waffle House restaurant opened at? - Answer next time!
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