When I was very young, because of the death of my father, my mother, brother and myself were very poor. My grandfather had made a deal with the bank (they did that back then) so we could stay in our house until my mother was able to get her life together and earn money. Still, although we had a nice, small house, we lived in poverty for a long time. I remember driving in our old, smelly (the upholstery was molding) Plymouth to the Fairfax district where my uncle worked in a butcher shop. I believe he probably gave us food for free or at a deep discount. I always hoped to get a piece of spicy, smoked meat known as a "schtickle for a nickle." For me that was a great treat. My "new" clothes

AMORC's Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California. The grounds and exhibits at "Rosicrucian Park" are magnificent and worth a trip. The statue at the front is of Taweret, goddess of childbirth and fertility. Years ago, while I was living in San Diego, California, I was a member of AMORC. AMORC, calling themselves the Rosicrucians, was then headquartered in San Jose, California. They became famous for advertising everywhere, and to this day I contend that their instructions give a good but simple liberal arts education, especially for those who did not attend college. Most people know about their home training. I was told that this was the brainchild of their (modern) founder,

As I write this, Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer) is about to announce new products. Today they are a focal point of the technology world. But it has not always been so. About 15 years ago I had left my job. The new job I was promised before I moved across the country fell through. I spent time living off the kindness of friends and eventually had to move back in with my parents. I was out of money. At that time the price of Apple stock had fallen, as I recall, to about $12 per share. I was urging everyone I knew (and who had money) to buy Apple stock. The reason for my urging was that I believed only two things could happen. First, the stock would go up in value, in which