Thursday, June 19, 1997
The Stuffed Green
Peppers of Investing
by Mike Williams
[email protected]
Tonight for dinner our family had stuffed green peppers. It may not sound like much to the uninitiated, but it was the culmination of years of effort on my behalf. In our home, because we live overseas and are both studying a foreign language full-time, my wife and I share in the household duties, including meal preparation. (Hey, guys, what's fair is fair. She has to sit through the same classes I do.)
I've wanted to make stuffed green peppers for years, but my sweet darling has always resisted. I've come close many times, sometimes even as close as purchasing the ingredients and bringing them home, but she always persuades me to abort the mission at the last minute. Why? Because she doesn't like them. None of our three sons would like them either. (We know this even though they've never eaten them. My middle son, in fact, is quite a picky eater and doesn't like a lot of food unless it begins with a "Mc" or ends with a "Hut.") For that matter, I don't even like stuffed green peppers much either.
Why, one would possibly ponder, would I try so vehemently to make a dish that none of us would like? The answer lies in a fundamental belief that I hold: my boys' nurturing years will not be complete unless they at least sample several culinary delicacies, one of which is stuffed green peppers. I began to panic the other day when I realized that my oldest is now 15 and time was growing short to initiate him to this (for us) unusual cuisine. It is a matter of principle. Sometimes we have to do things (and eat things) that we don't like simply because it is the right thing to do.
My investing is like that. I am relatively new to the Fool. I invested in an index fund as my initiation to the ways of Fooldom. From there I learned to find growth stocks and even to short. It's been great fun and I've made as much on my investments in a few weeks as I had in mutual funds in a year and a half. Wonderful! Only one thing is missing, though: Dow stocks.
I got so excited about the possibilities of large returns that I skipped a couple of steps, did not pass go, and did not collect $200. Now it's time to go back and fill in what I missed. Do I want to? No, of course not. I'm having too much fun with my growth stocks and have several small- and mid-cap stocks that I am just champing at the bit to try. It's too much fun owning growth stocks.
But, when all is said and done, it is the right thing to do. My portfolio is flying right now, but what about later? I need balance. Not fun. Not excitement. But sound balance; very sound. It's all about balance and doing the right thing. So, the next stocks I buy will be Dow stocks.
Kind of like eating stuffed green peppers. We can have pizza and spaghetti tomorrow. For tonight it's peppers.
Please excuse me now; it's time to clear the dishes from the table. We have lots of left-overs.
Mike Williams