Nice Family Press

 I'm blessed to live in a gorgeous house. I drive a girly Lexus sedan -- the type of car a retiree would favor. I have a few cheap watches -- and shirts from years ago. In fact, yesterday at D1's, we noted that in a picture taken when the Little Man was 1, I was wearing the exact same polo shirt I had on yesterday. In short -- I'm not a possessions guy.

I'm never impressed when I hear how rich someone is. I AM impressed when I hear how much they give to charity. Jeff Bezos is a schmuck, albeit a rich one. His ex wife Mackenzie is a hero. That's how I see it.

When I started making money, Wifey and I started saving -- our goal was to allow the Ds to attend any college and grad school they chose. We ended up saving quite a bit -- and indeed tuition at private schools was already in the $50K per year range when they attended.

But then -- they threw us a curve ball. Both chose to attend UF, and both did so on Bright Futures Scholarships -- a program designed to keep top kids in Florida. It worked -- UF is now incredibly competitive, and why not? Unless you're from a rich family, what right minded kid wants to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars to go to a Duke or Emory, when UF is essentially tuition free? The answer is plenty of people -- those non Ivy places do quite well still.

When D1 decided to go to grad school, she knew she had a choice, once again. Maybe NYU? The Masters tuition there would have been in excess of 6 figures.

D2 wanted a Masters, too, in Business. She got one at UF in a single year -- and part of her tuition was paid by a scholarship, as well. The bottom line was we saved a LOT in tuition costs.

D1 chose FIU for her MS in Dietetics. I think the total tuition cost for her credits was about $15K. So when she started, I met with her program director, and said I felt compelled to at least give some of that savings back -- maybe they could pick a deserving student, and anonymously pay her tuition -- from us? No -- they had a better idea, and it involved part of the MS training.

It turns out that all future dietitians MUST do an unpaid series of internships -- and they are full time gigs. For kids who rely on their income while in school, or even help to support their families -- this is a major hardship. So the FIU folks said how about we set up a scholarship fund, to pay these kids during their internships -- with hospitals, schools, commercial kitchens? The State would match some funds, and 2 kids per year would benefit.

We agreed. And that was 9 years ago, and since we contribute yearly, the fund has grown into a nice endowment. So far -- 10 students have benefitted. D1 sits on the selection committee, and has even hired some of the recipients as consultants for her Nutrition company.

The PR Department thought this would make a nice story, and so had a woman with a very exotic name contact me. Her nickname is Tani, and I assumed she was Latin -- this being Miami. Nope -- she's very WASPY -- from Minnesota. Her name is Finnish, of all things. I guess she left the frozen north to thaw out a bit.

She interviewed me, and D1 several months back. I forgot about the whole thing -- we also sent in a family photo which is a favorite -- the Ds, their men, and the Little Man at Pace Park Downtown. The spoiled Spaniel Madeleine and enormous puppy Betsy are in it, too. Joey took the shot with his cell camera on a timer, and when Dr. Eric saw it, he went to work -- photoshopping it into a treasured photo. We have it framed at home, and Eric was able to get me the file to send to Tani. The photo leads the article.

Part of me felt guilty about publicizing it, but I thought about it -- I AM damned proud of what we did -- so far helped 10 young dietitians along, with many more to come.

Years ago, when I gave my first substantial gift to UM, I joked with the "Development" person that I might keep it secret from Wifey. The fellow's advice was sage: Keep Philandering secret; shout about your philanthropy from the mountains. In other words -- encourage others to learn how sweet it is to give back.

So FIU will be our main target of giving. Years ago I MORE than repaid UM for the assistance they gave me -- probably 200 times. And the truth is, UM is a very rich college. Any doubts about this were erased when the last president Donna Shalala approved a $1M vanity bridge across the campus lake -- 30 feet away from the old student union, which gave fine access. It was almost as if they didn't know how to spend the money they got.

Jackson Health is different -- we'll still give to them, and their mission of caring for the community. But UM? My yearly Hurricane Club donation to get my football tickets and nice parking will be it going forward.

So proud of my family. Go Panthers!