Friends & Markets

by John Dalt

01/08/09

Today I left the office at noon for a funeral. This was an old friend, a competitor for ten years in the heavy construction business. I got back to the office and computer at market closing. Guess what, the SP500 was up 10 points while I was gone. I did not miss much. This is the first time I have left the market unattended in months.

I thought I would write about my friend today.   On the surface we did not have much in common, except the same business. He was hard to get to know, until he deemed you worthy. I could write that he was honest, not just when you were watching, but all the time. A funny story will explain. Inspectors are on every job to make sure you do the job to specifications and plans. My friend was dealing with a prying inspector. After working around the inspector, because he wanted to be in the middle of everything to check the work. My friend invited him to climb in the pickup they would go to get a cup of coffee. The inspector refused, saying he could not leave while work was progressing. My friend told him, “If I wanted to cheat you, I could do it right in front of you and you would never know. I have been at this for thirty years, get out of the way and let us do our job!” This story was told numerous times around construction sites to hardy laughter!

There is a larger truth to be learned from my friend’s story.  Find people that you can trust.  I do not mean on little things, on mean on anything.  One time I asked my friend to borrow a dozer that was on a common job site we both were working on.  He let us use it, when we were done I asked how much I owed him as I wanted to pay a fair rental.  He told me not to worry about it, we would get even some other time.  I went to the office that night, computed the highest hourly rate, and sent his company the check.   I would have violated his trust in my honesty, had I not treated his consideration with due respect.  Cherish your friends that you can trust with anything.  The market will come and go.  Sadly, so will your friends. 

It is a sad day when people like Bernie Madoff trade on friendships to cheat people. When politicians use soaring rhetoric interpreted one way by many hopeful citizens, but they mean something entirely different. Like calling welfare payments tax breaks. Enough, politics should not enter a tribute to a friend.

We had a saying in the construction business, “If you want a friend, get a dog.”  It was an admission of the ruthlessness of the competition.  You bid on jobs to take them.  If a competitor lost a job, his business, tough.  But we would all share a kind of gallows humor as survivors.  We could meet a few times a year for a beer to share stories.  That’s where I am going now, to have a beer with some old friends and tell stories. 

WARNING:     The information presented in this newsletter is based on generally available news releases, corporate filings, current events, interviews and the editor’s opinions.  It may contain errors and you should not make investment decisions based solely on what you believe you have read here.  Do your own research, it is your money.  If you lose it, it is your responsibility, not ours or your grandmothers!  The editor may or may not have a position in any securities discussed.  The editor may have held a position in a security earlier, or in the future.

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