Our Foreign Corespondent David and I were recently discussing the minimalist lifestyle trend that has been gathering steam in recent years. The concept is to live with as few material possessions as possible. A Netflix documentary on the subject can be found HERE. As I mentioned to David, my wife and I came face to … More The Bare Minimum and Old Money
Greetings from Paris. I feel like one of the swans who glide up and down our section of the Seine here. They look so nonchalant and at ease. Beneath the surface of the water, however, they are paddling like mad. Such is the case for me right now, as we have several projects in the … More Responding To Your Comments
Each year about this time, I hobble together a list of classic, reliable back to school clothes and accessories that can benefit the high school senior or college freshman. This year, not so much. Parents, teachers, students, and administrators find themselves at a crossroads right now. The pandemic presents plenty of problems and no clear … More The Back To School List That Wasn’t
Once upon a time, there was a man named O’Malley who sold pots and pans to villagers in the Irish countryside. One cloudy, rain-promising afternoon, he topped a hill and came face to face with a huge man who stood in the middle of the road, a large sack thrown over his shoulder. O’Malley stopped … More O’Malley and The Big Guy
Scarlet O’Hara famously said that, ‘After tall, tomorrow is another day,’ her closing remark in Gone With The Wind engraving a defiant optimism in the minds of a generation of readers, and probably even more film fans. So, with the ravages of Covid-19 still plaguing the globe, it’s important for us to remember this as … More The Slow But Certain Dawn
In this digital age when over-sharing is de rigueur, I think it’s important to revisit from time to time the concept of keeping a secret. Privacy, which is a Core Value of Old Money, is a general concept. Keeping a secret is a specific, tangible choice. The difference between the two makes the latter worth … More The Importance of Keeping a Secret
Some people hoard money like their going to live forever. Some people spend it like they’re going to die tomorrow. Seek the balance. BGT
David, a long-time contributor to the blog, recently raised an issue in a private email that I thought warranted discussion. When is it ‘patriotic’ (or at least in the public interest) to intentionally spend money in order to help revive the economy? President Bush encouraged Americans to ‘go out and spend’ in order to get … More Is Spending Patriotic?
As the US deals with increasing infection rates, I thought it might be helpful and perhaps a little comforting to offer a little perspective from Paris. To recap quickly, the pandemic spread to France from northern Italy and Switzerland in January and February of this year. On March 17, 2019, the country was locked down, … More A Brief Update from Paris
One of the more pleasant aspects of being a resident of Paris is the exposure to people whose lives and accomplishments seem to sit on an island, divorced and distanced from their egos. By this I mean that I’ve encountered a number of Parisians who know exactly who they are and what they are. This … More Divorcing Your Ego