Postcards: Reflections, Predictions, Chaos

Happy Birthday to my father, thanks to Mister Moe, and some serious problems emerging in the U.S. economy (hint: that could be good for stocks)... plus a market update.

Dear Fellow Expat:

When I was five years old, my father taught me five things.

• How to play Gin Rummy

• How to read the McCormick (MKC) stock quote in the Baltimore Sun

• How to keep the score at a baseball game

• How to read and calculate averages in a box score in the Baltimore Sun

• How to pour a proper Vodka Soda for him and his friends (Smirnoff preferred.

All these elements required mathematics and a deeper appreciation for division and multiplication. I walked into first grade a little too proud and nearly got tossed from Warren Elementary because everyone else was working on: 2 + 4 = sandwich.

Today is my father’s birthday, and it’s great to be back in Maryland to spend more time with my parents. Thanks for everything, Dad… but you already know that…

Why I Stand for the Flag…

I didn’t say anything about the 80th Anniversary of D-Day because I wanted to tell this story properly.

When I was 18, I went to an Orioles game with my father and his friend Mo McGarity.

Before the game started, the Nat…