How is that fortune changing? The answer involves perspective. If you look at silver, it has dropped to the lowest price since I began this round of tracking 21 months ago, ending the day at $26.50 per ounce. Did I “lose” the ounces bought for more? Or did this trigger a feeding frenzy? I can’t say, but keep reading.Over the time, I’ve gotten to know the local dealers and one of the guys has a substantial collection that he bought for an average of $9 per ounce. But he had no system for trading; now he’s got no cash to buy more. I showed him following my formulas, above a certain base reserve (I do not yet have such a reserve), he would have sold in December 2012 and bought back now. He would have his silver back plus a surplus of $4,700. True, this demands complete self-control and strict adherence to pre-planned policy. Then again, such things are as every-day around here as playing bass, driving sidecars, writing famous blogs, and designing home-made logic gates.
Now you just watch. Whenever I mention silver, the next thing I’ll talk about is real estate. I can neither confirm nor deny any connection. I love using that phrase, but anyway I found a four bedroom two bath in a wonderful neighborhood well within my price range. But I said no. Reason? Despite owning the land, it was part of a community with a $230 per month grounds-keeping fee. I feel 75 bucks is plenty to have somebody come by mow the lawn.
Also, the territory came with a series of regulations that could not be enforced without somebody keeping tabs on what goes on behind closed doors. While I like rules saying no vehicles with decals, no dogs, and no rentals, I draw the line at having room-mates showing ID. Seriously folks, renting to strangers is an entirely different proposition than some office monitoring who lives with me.
Still, this too shows the shifting of fortunes. The place was a nearly new (2008 construction) home adjacent to a golf course. Right now, I would have to rent-to-own, in a year, we shall see. I firmly believe high price, not third-party opinion, should be the major criteria for keeping out the riff-raff. Can’t be having crazy women and drywall contractors living next door, now.
Though not definitionally real dates, DeeDee and I often meet at the bakery on Tuesdays now. She’s interesting but not outgoing, or what is the word? Effevescent? We’d probably define each other as reasonably good day company. You might say there are two types of men. The ones who talk about silver and the ones who hand you the silver bar and let you hold it. She’s learning the difference, but you know, I long every day for the woman that brings me something new, something interesting, in kind.
You can tell the rip-off hotels in America, it is practically impossible to get their rates on-line. One low rate is advertised to sucker you into the site, then good luck Charlie. Or how do you like the hotels that don’t quote the room rate, but the rate per person, until the last moment. A hundred bucks sounds okay for a repainted warehouse room in the historic district until you find out that’s each. The Internet is one of the worst places to get a quote. These hotels do themselves an evil turn conducting business like that.
I struggled with hotel rates for an hour this morning. Hotel people are outright strange. They somersault to avoid answering the obvious question, “How much is the room.” It quickly becomes a dogfight as they hand you the it-depends runaround. Yep, that is one industry I would like to see fall flat on its ass. Because whatever replaces them simply has to be better. Hotels should be required to post their rates.
Ah, but this tips us off I’ve been looking around for a destination. Based on the Colorado formula of seeing and doing on the outbound leg, with a dash back to base before dark, it now depends on what I can afford. My kingdom for the good old days when I knew five women who would pay their own way just to have the company for a trip they’d never make otherwise. (Barring a few single mothers who worked out of necessity, I have not met a self-supporting single woman since I arrived in Florida.)
While Denver is ideal for taking in the surroundings, Florida isn’t central to anything. South is the Keys, north is bumper-to-bumper out past West Palm, and then hours of nothing. Not even scenery, as the major roads are well back over the horizon from any ocean views. To the west you can only go through the Everglades to the other coast, making every trip a day trip. And East, the expensive Atlantic. Return often to find out where I’ll pick this time.
