Welcome to SmartsMatter

“Value is more expensive than price.” – Toba Beta  Ferrari’s stock valuation is roughly the same as GM’s – each around $30 billion. Yet Ferrari sells

Life is full of a thousand red herrings, and it takes the history of a civilization to work out which are the red herrings, and

Don’t misinterpret my title this week. It doesn’t mean you will be selling your home for half its value. It does mean you may soon

The media lambasted his suggestive gyrations as “obscene performances.” Cities refused to grant permits for him to perform. Music labels rejected him, one saying, “His music

Some things just keep… hanging on.   The girl (or guy) you asked out to the movie, and end up spending the rest of your life with. 

One beautiful summer day the tiger and the donkey were walking through the fields together. The donkey proclaimed to the tiger that the grass was

Did you hear about the man caught flashing the Chapel? To be precise, the Sistine Chapel.  Why would anyone commit such a lascivious act, especially

It’s a hot and humid day on the ranch. Tex is working hard, but his Belgian horse is working harder, hauling goods and plowing fields. Tex

Many years ago my son, Brian, was excited to buy his first new car. He did weeks of research before deciding on a top of the line

Cows kill more people than sharks. Surprised?  So was I. But it’s true. More people are trampled or kicked to death every year by cows. So why

It’s a cold and rainy night in Atlanta. Terri is home alone with her kids when she hears a knock on the door. She answers

It’s August 19, 1971. Men armed with machine guns stand guard at Santa Martha Acatitla prison in Mexico City. The warden is expecting a visit from

Many years ago there was a Nebraska farmer who was known for growing the best corn in the county. In fact, he entered his corn in

Last week my family and I took a much-needed vacation to one of the favorite places from my youth…Walloon Lake, Michigan. One of my favorite

“A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end, but not necessarily in that order.” -Jean-Luc Godard My three-year-old daughter was learning to roast a

It is the first day of class. Albert Einstein stands in front of a room full of eager college students. Without a word, he begins writing simple

Last weekend Teresa and I were at our vacation home in Sedona. Somehow we got onto the subject of purses and out of curiosity I asked

Sara was a good student at Florida State with a dream of becoming an attorney…until she took the dreaded LSAT to determine her aptitude for law

It’s a frigid, stormy night. The rain is pouring down in sheets, making it difficult to see the road ahead of you. You stop at a

A father was helping his young son learn to fly a kite at the beach. The son complained, “Dad, I’m at the end of the