Poverty is a Misfortune

First, a baseball trivia quiz. Seven states have two major league baseball teams, not counting California which has five teams.

Name the states and the teams. The answers are at the bottom of this letter.

POVERTY IS A MISFORTUNE. Poverty is a misfortune, it does not provoke nobility or generosity. It must be accepted, endured, fought, and overcome.

Poverty is no blessing, except in the larger sense that all life is a blessing, or pancreatic cancer is a blessing. Certainly one can learn from the experience. One can exhibit grace.

But to say, Wouldn't it be fun to be poor, is like saying, Wouldn't it be fun to be sick.

One choses the state of poverty as better than a dishonorable life, but one does not seek it for its own sake.

Poverty is not simple living. In fact, it can be both immensely complicated and continuously boring.

But simple living is a happy state. Defined as this: You are living simply if your income is greater than your expenses. Poverty is the reverse of that condition.

BE LIKE WARREN BUFFET. Be a little Buffet. Invest in long-term value, just like he does. If you belong to the one-third of America that is NOT in debt, then this is a great time to get out there and start buying. Old Warren just put $3 billion into General Electric -- because he's a good guy? Nope, because he saw the value.

How much money do you have to invest. $500 0r $5,000 -- either way, if you go out looking for something you can hold and keep, you're going to get a lot of interesting offers.

Be a true American -- Invest, not shop, not consume -- Invest!

The duty of debtors is to be making more money. Earn!
Debt is not guilt, debt is a result of someone else's belief in your worthiness. That's why they call it credit, which comes from the Latin word credo -- I believe. If you are in debt, it's because someone believes in you. So, go forth and fulfill your promise.

BASEBALL. I favor the Chicago teams, the Cubs and the White Sox. Both teams are in the playoffs and a possible all-Chicago World Series has the old town on fire.

The White Sox first need to beat the Tampa Rays. I like those Rays, those low payroll wonderboys. I like the way the Rays made mush out of the Red Sox and Yankees.

But I gotta be for the White Sox. They are my home team. A young boy, growing up in Chicago, faces a serious decision early in life. Should I be a Cubs fan or a White Sox fan? Because you can't be both. I made that choice for the South Siders and I'm still with them.

I mean -- nice if the Cubs win, I guess, but that's all.

Meanwhile, another favorite -- those blue Dodgers out in Los Angeles with the incredible Manny Ramirez and Pharoah Joe Torre. They're two games up on the Cubs right now and they could go all the way.

QUIZ ANSWERS

New York -- the Mets and the Yankees
Pennsylvania -- The Pirates and the Phillies
Ohio -- the Indians and the Reds
Illinois -- the Cubs and the White Sox
Missouri -- the Cardinals and the Royals
Florida -- the Marlins and the Rays
Texas -- the Astros and the Rangers
AND
California -- the Giants, the As, the Angels, the Dodgers, and the Padres