May 2002

I don't know that Grandma had anything profound in mind when she gave me the piggybank. I was plus or minus ten years old. It was just a cute gift for her name-sake grandchild—and maybe a subconscious reminder of financial responsibility from this survivor of the Great Depression. On the other hand, maybe Grandma did have something deeper in mind. Boldly painted on the side of the piggy-bank is "For My Trip to Europe." Did Grandma pay special attention to those words, or was she just attracted to the cute pig? A mere four inches long, realistically it couldn't hold much money for such a trip.

May 1999

Are you familiar with Belgian horses? I don’t mean are you a first-name friend of one. I mean, do you know how BIG those animals are? No, they’re not the size of Clydesdales, the draft horses in the TV commercials. Belgians are bigger - but calmer. They are the gentle giants of the horse world. Last year I got acquainted with one.