Investing without Wall Street: The Five Essentials of Financial Freedom

Epilogue

Journey's End

Dear Reader: Thank you for accompanying me on my journey. This book has been a labor of love for me, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Looking back, by 1972, my parents' clothing business had grown to six stores in various towns in the Black Hills and they were ready to retire. I, and my brother who had followed me to New York, showed no interest in taking over the stores. So the clothing chain was offered for sale. Although my parents tried for many months, they couldn't find a buyer. The problem was that the business was too big for local buyers to afford.

My wife said, “What we need is publicity.” We noodled around with it, and decided that my parents' plight might be of general interest. I found a contact at The Wall Street Journal and pitched the story of how two sons had gone to the big city and rejected the family business back in the small town. (For those of you not familiar with the term, I guess I am showing my age: Noodling is slang. A good synonym would be “brainstorming.”)

The Journal liked the idea. They sent one of their ace Chicago-based reporters, Frederick Klein, out to Deadwood to interview my parents. On July 26, 1973, the story appeared on The Journal's front page, above the fold, in that great center column The Journal had for so many years. It was titled: “The Jacobs Brothers Opt Not to Go Home to Deadwood, S.D.” The subtitle was: “So Who Will Take Over Stores the Parents Have Operated? Common Plight ...