Rich Folks

One of the nice perks about having some money is all the free stuff you get invited to. Last night, my financial advisor/neighbor/friend Pat asked me to come to a nice Italian place in the Grove, to hear his company Oppenheimer's investment guru, Brian Belski.

I made sure I was dressed as a client (no tie) and headed over to the Mayfair, a place that always brings me fond memories. After Hurricane Katrina, Wifey, the Ds, and I holed up there for a week, waiting for the power to return to our tree infested neighborhood. We thoroughly enjoyed it --walking to lunch and dinner, and comparing stories with the other hurricane refugees, all while watching the poor bastards in New Orleans on TV, getting it much worse than we did.

Anyway --Belski was scary smart, and quick. He's a little guy, Polish background (he kept joking about it) from Minnesota, and he gave his spiel about returning to stocks in investing, even though folks were fleeing the market towards cash and bonds. As he said --companies like Johnson and Johnson aren't going away.

A wise ass Latin doctor shouted out "Yeah --just like General Motors!" Belski then pointed out the difference --GM had an unsustainable pension and benefits plan that made them go broke, it wasn't the core business.

He also described why the US is still the best place to invest: "The best house in a crappy neighborhood," and said he travels often to Europe, where the investors are all bitter about our success, and "there's nothing worse than a bitter European."

After the obnoxious Latin doctor peppered him with more questions, like "Oh yeah --then why is the Euro 138 to the dollar instead of 115?" Belski sat down, and we enjoyed our dinner.

The fellow across from me was an executive with the Miami Heat. He's originally from Southern Cal, and has lived all over the US, working for various sports teams, including the Celtics and Knicks. We chatted about grown kids, and how much has changed for them in today's job market, where the thought of coming out of college and working for one employer for a lifetime is no longer an option.

We also sat with another couple --a Cuban American urologist who trained in Atlanta, and his wife, an Atlanta Baptist nurse who met the doc and moved back to Miami with him. The doc was a dead ringer for Robin Williams, and although he was no cut up, I kept smiling when I looked at him.

They have 2 kids near the Ds age --one at Notre Dame, and a grad student at Boston College, and their kids went through Catholic schools all throughout their childhood.

We chatted about travel, and I related a story about a wonderful tour guide we had in Italy, who played the accordian, and regaled us.

There was a silence, and then the wife, Michelle, exclaimed "Remo!" Yes -- amazingly, we had shared the same tour guide, years apart. I guess Italy's a small town, like Miami is...

Wifey asked me about the dinner, and I estimated it probably cost nearly $100 per person (we had wine and beer and dessert) and there were over 50 folks attending.

Yes --somehow dinners are a bit tastier when someone else pays.