Tuesday, December 24, 1996
The Crazy Eddie Contest
by MF ETurkey

Ok, I've been itching to put these words on paper now for six months. I kept putting it off. No longer.

The time has come for me publicly to say Thank You. The person I am saying it to wishes anonymity, but since I know he reads this forum and I believe the message is one that everyone should hear, I am going to say it here for everyone's benefit.

The message is not about any one stock, but about personal character and the lessons to be learned in this season of Thanksgiving.

Six months ago I ran the Crazy Eddie Contest, offering up 10 free hours to the Fool with the best way for me to spend the whopping 95 bucks that I received from the Crazy Eddie litigation. It was the subject of two Fribbles I wrote, Crazy Eddie Antar and Crazy Eddia Antar -- The Sequel.

Ideas poured in, most falling into three main areas: First, doing and saying unspeakable things to Eddie; Second, somehow working Tom and Dave's book into the contest as a giveaway, and; Third, giving the money to charity.

One person shone amongst those in the last group though, in that if I gave the money to charity, he would match the gift from his own pocket

The reason this person stands out in this delightful season is not merely because he said he would match the gift, but rather, because he insisted on the anonymity. Believing that charity is something that comes from the heart and the soul, and not something you do in order to get yourself noticed or improve your appearance to others, his firm request that he remain anonymous was a reaffirmation of the good that exists in this world.

With so many people in the world trying wildly to get themselves noticed, and you can see such people posturing and preening wherever attention may be garnered, it is nice to see what human beings truly are capable of.

The money, both mine and his, went off to an organization fighting hunger. For those of you who sat around a full table this past weekend, as I was lucky enough to do with my family, it gives you something to ponder.

So Thank You to the winner of the contest, our own version of "Anonymous," whose lesson on life should be inscribed somewhere in stone.