A Fool and His Money Are Soon Parted
One fool and his money
When I was a young boy about twelve maybe thirteen years old, I remember hearing a phrase that my uncle Jim had said to his three brothers, my uncles: Earnest, Clifford, and Junior, during an argument at a family get together. I don’t remember the details of the argument, but I do remember that it was about money. My uncle Jim was getting barked at by his three brothers because he wouldn’t lend them any money. Throughout the argument Uncle Ernest would call Uncle Jim, stingy; Uncle Clifford would repeat the words “Cheap bastard”; Uncle Junior would say, “You think that you are better than the rest of us”. Uncle Jim got frustrated, stood up in the middle of the floor, pointed at Uncle Earnest and said “Do you want to know what your problem is? I’ll tell you-- You got three kids and three baby mamas”. He then pointed at Uncle Clifford and said “You have a drinking problem” He then directed his finger and anger at Uncle Junior and said “And you, you have a gambling problem” Uncle Clifford stood up and said, “So, what are you trying to say, Jim?” Uncle Jim repeated some word to his brothers that have stuck with me throughout my life that have certainly made me a smarter person when dealing with money. Uncle Jim looked directly in the eye of each of his brothers and said to them “Fools and their money will soon part”. He then grabbed his things and left. Throughout my life there have been many instances where this phrase has proved to be true. There is one in particular that comes to mind. It was a Friday afternoon and liberty call had just been sounded. It was a special Friday for me; it was the first day of checking into my first duty station, as a United Stated Marine, at the School Of Infantry, Camp Geiger, North Carolina. It was also payday, my first payday as a Marine, which made the day even more
When I was a young boy about twelve maybe thirteen years old, I remember hearing a phrase that my uncle Jim had said to his three brothers, my uncles: Earnest, Clifford, and Junior, during an argument at a family get together. I don’t remember the details of the argument, but I do remember that it was about money. My uncle Jim was getting barked at by his three brothers because he wouldn’t lend them any money. Throughout the argument Uncle Ernest would call Uncle Jim, stingy; Uncle Clifford would repeat the words “Cheap bastard”; Uncle Junior would say, “You think that you are better than the rest of us”. Uncle Jim got frustrated, stood up in the middle of the floor, pointed at Uncle Earnest and said “Do you want to know what your problem is? I’ll tell you-- You got three kids and three baby mamas”. He then pointed at Uncle Clifford and said “You have a drinking problem” He then directed his finger and anger at Uncle Junior and said “And you, you have a gambling problem” Uncle Clifford stood up and said, “So, what are you trying to say, Jim?” Uncle Jim repeated some word to his brothers that have stuck with me throughout my life that have certainly made me a smarter person when dealing with money. Uncle Jim looked directly in the eye of each of his brothers and said to them “Fools and their money will soon part”. He then grabbed his things and left. Throughout my life there have been many instances where this phrase has proved to be true. There is one in particular that comes to mind. It was a Friday afternoon and liberty call had just been sounded. It was a special Friday for me; it was the first day of checking into my first duty station, as a United Stated Marine, at the School Of Infantry, Camp Geiger, North Carolina. It was also payday, my first payday as a Marine, which made the day even more