Something For Nothing

#513

Burt Lancaster, one of Hollywood's greats, starred in the movie Something for Nothing. In the story, a ne'er do well, vagrant, lands an astonishing wishing machine which enables him to accomplish and accumulate things which he could have never done on his own. So it is with us, we spend our time wishing for things, day dreaming, “waiting for our ship to come in”. The great hotels and casinos in Las Vegas were built by losers. I know people who spend any excess money they have after the bills are paid on lottery tickets actually believing, with the odds involved, that they will get “something for nothing”. I remember buying one gambling ticket in my life, when I was in Ireland, a ticket on the Irish sweepstakes. Anything that I have gotten free could be held in a very small area of my hand. Anything you get from your government, in most cases, can be written on a very small piece of paper.

Since I have been in the collectable market my entire life, specifically marketing antiquarian books, I've had the occasion to visit with many antique dealers. The thing that keeps them going, that causes them to get up and open up the store every morning, today just may be the day that a discovery will be made (a painting behind an old print in an old frame, a tarnished silver memorable piece). One antique dealer, a very large, very beautiful antique store full of beautiful things, told me the stress he encounters every time a woman with small children comes in his store. He said, “all these beautiful old things and these children just have to put their hands on them.” And of course, if one drops something, the mother immediately ushers the children out of the store, scolding them as they go, while he is left with broken, useless merchandise which he must clean up. Another said, “I wait all day hearing people say, “just looking” and then a pickup truck loaded with old furniture will pull up in front of my place. The owner will come in and ask me if I am interested in buying some of his antiques.” He said, “I go out and look in the truck load of junk and just happen to spot a tiger oak wood table and I am cured and happy for months to come.”

To show you how much you can trust people, I had turned my entire estate over to the trust department of a large NC bank. After all, I never know when something might happen to me (we are all just one breath away). One day, the chief trust officer visiting me said, “I know you have a stamp collection and you have never shown it to me.” I took him to the room where it was located, and pulled out the many books of stamps. But, much to my sorrow, years before, in an old book, I had found some very valuable old stamps which I had put in an envelope. Like a fool, I just had to show him those stamps. Evidently, they immediately disappeared into his pocket...gone from me forever. I could give many examples of this type of thievery.

Recently, a first edition of the Super Man comic book was sold in England for in excess of one million dollars. I owned a first edition Super Man for many years. It was learned that I had the book and a university student was assigned by someone to get it by coming to work for me when I had a job opening. He was one of the sharpest men I have ever met. I liked him very much, he did his job well. But, he never took his focus off his main mission. Of the 17,000 old comic books I own and had collected (I never looked at a comic book as a child. I have them only as with all the other antiquarian books because they are worth money, and I deal in books for money) one day, he said, “I've heard you have a first issue of Super Man, I certainly would like to see it”. Now, like a fool, I showed it to him. It should have been in my lock box at the bank. I will not go into the details but the book disappeared. I called his father, who lived in Cary NC, and told him about the matter. His father said, “I am not surprised”.

Americans in particular, because of the great movies played and books written involving inheritance and the good fortune of hitting it big, have the “hope and change” of the “get rich quick” mentality. We even have this dream with the “high fliers” of the stock market. When I was a much younger man I made a small fortune with penny stocks. Only using money which I could afford to lose I would buy these stocks for under one dollar a share. I would comb the market, studying, thinking, planning. I remember a Hong Kong bank stock, a diamond mining stock from South Africa.

It is far better to get rich slow, to invest wisely. Use fortitude, strength of will, perseverance, endurance. If you are blessed with a talent to hit a small ball in a cow pasture (golf), to run up and down a court or field with a ball, or even hit a small object with a stick (football, basketball, baseball), you may become a young millionaire, playing. You may make much money driving a car fast, always turning to the left. It will take exercise and discipline. The rest of us will depend on much prayer, fasting and self control.

My early years in the stock market and real estate market were punctuated by information, study. It is unbelievable the incredible amount of information available on any subject, universities, book stores, the internet. Most people are just lazy or just too busy with their social life of sex life (John Edwards, Tiger Woods, Eliot Spitzer, Mark Sanford).

The earthquake in Chile is an excellent example of the great increase in technology but nothing having changed about human nature. Several have resigned because they were too busy with other things even though the technology was available that would have saved many lives. Most of the damage in Chile came from the tsunami which technology predicted. Too often, in most jobs, it is a matter of just going through the motions. I would like to go to one doctors office, one more time, where the doctor as well as his staff showed a passion for the profession, the profession of healing.

We have a culture of “something for nothing”, welfare checks, food stamps, college grants, government housing (keep breathing until the retirement check).

Of the deadly sins, laziness and coveting are the most obvious. A black preacher, Reverend Johnson, sold me some old books. He spent his entire life just going from one widows house to another collecting “alms” from them. I gave him some of my old clothes, but they were not stylish enough for him. The thing I will always remember from Reverend Johnson, he was sitting in my den and I was giving him instruction in the bible, talking about the disciple Thomas, who reportedly had callouses on his knees from so much time spent in prayer. I had a large, round, brass table near his chair. He got so happy hearing about Thomas that he scared me to death by kicking over my table.

Christian ministry is simply the holiness of discipleship.

The most beautiful story in all literature, and I do not believe you will find a more beautiful poignant story in all literature, secular or sacred, is that of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15). One son, wanted his inheritance early, “something for nothing”, left home and threw it all away. This Jewish boy found himself, of all things, feeding hogs. Deciding to return home, where his fathers servants ate well, his old father, ever looking down the road on which the son had left, saw him returning and ran to greet him. His brother, having stayed home and supported the father, resented the return of the Prodigal. The story mostly involves inheritance. To forgive we must know forgiveness. To be thankful we must know thankfulness. Only in living, can we know life.

“For we are born in other's pain, and perish in our own.” (Francis Thompson)