Yesterday was a Christopher Columbus Day! Those of you who have been reading the Wealth Watch for years know what this is. But for those who do not, well, let me tell you the story.

Back in the early ‘80s when I bought my first three stocks ever, it was with two great advisors who both became great friends and mentors, Jasper Stephens and Mac Price. Jasper was on Wall Street when the ‘29 crash happened and managed the DuPont family fortune for 5 years in the ‘50s. I was 20 years old, and all I could think about was how to learn the investment game. I would run down to their office about three times a week and check the quotes coming across the ticker tape. These were the days when you had a big terminal that would take about 15 minutes behind the trade to get a quote. There was only one, so everyone hovered around it. There would usually be a couple of older men hanging around drinking coffee and trying to figure out which stock would be the next Wal-Mart.

Jasper and Mac were always inviting, and the conversation was riveting for a 20-year-old rubbing shoulders with seasoned investors. I knew my account was so small that it was a more of an act of kindness than a business transaction for Jasper and Mac, but I do think they really enjoyed my enthusiasm and unlimited hunger to learn. Back in the early ‘80s, the market was marching higher, and new highs on the Dow Jones were a somewhat regular occurrence. Every day that the Dow Jones hit a new high, Jasper, Mac, and all of us would cheer and yell “It’s a Christopher Columbus day!”,a new high, territory that has never been seen before. Yesterday was a Christopher Columbus Day. A new world, a new horizon, new territory that has never been seen before. A New All Time High. 

Man, those were the days…