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
On this blog, we discuss the complexities and nuances of Old Money Values…the important concepts, priorities, and habits that inform the Old Money way of life. These include Health, Education, and Financial Independence, just to name a few. I detail these Core Values in The Old Money Book. They make up about half the book, … More The Mid-Pandemic Survival Guide – Old Money Style
I recently received great news: Peri, the daughter and granddaughter of our dear friends Mo and Lark, has recently been accepted to Bard College. She’ll begin classes there this fall, and we are all delighted. Congratulations are in order for Mom, Lark, and certainly for Peri. A lot of collective effort went into the realization … More A Note of Congratulations to the Bard College Freshman
“We have given our best attempts to democratic practices here over the years, with monarchs at the start and tyrants in between. As a family, we have had our ‘run of the town’ and been run out of town. People don’t remember the good you did for them when they’re part of a mob. You … More Old Money: In Their Own Words