Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 00:42:18 -0700
From: fritz@nehalemtel.net
Subject: I Love Corey, Chapter Fifty-three
Alas, all you young lassies and laddies must leave. Sorry about
that. It's just that there are a bunch of people who think reading this
will corrupt you. Now we wouldn't want that to happen even if it is fun.
If the thought of a couple of laddies getting it on offends you,
you had better leave now. That way you won't be exposed to such
despicable, yet enjoyable thoughts and words. Well, I hope they're
enjoyable.
To you unfortunate individuals who happen to live where big brother
is watching out for you, sorry. You'd better leave before he catches you
reading this. After all, writings of this type will undoubtedly cause the
sky to fall. Why else would big brother have formulated such a law? I
know, he tells you it is to protect you from evil creatures like me. Well
if you need protection from me, you are not fit to go forth into the world.
Don't forget your umbrella. After all, you don't want to be hit by pieces
of the sky. Don't forget to cluck a few times at big brother. Ridicule
really pisses him off.
Out of the depths of my evil mind I made this story up for all the
good little lassies and laddies out there. That means it is not based on
any actual people or real happenings. Those who think otherwise are
mistaken.
Please be good and respectful little lassies and laddies and ask
for permission before posting this story on another site. Also, it would
be nice if you credited me with any quotes from the story. It would be
even better if you shared all those fantastic riches you have gotten from
reading and exploiting this story. Outside of that, you are free to read
and enjoy the story in any way you wish. I've even heard there are some
people out there who print it out. I wouldn't have thought it was worth
the few cents each page costs to print but if you feel that it is, go for
it. You really need one of those printers that prints on both sides of the
paper though. This thing must be up to over five hundred pages. I've lost
count. Besides I can't count past twenty-one. You know, five fingers on
the right hand, five fingers on the left hand... That brings up the
thought; if I was a girl type person could I count to twenty-two or just to
twenty.
Poor Ernie. He will be busy checking over this bunch of reject
words that I used. If you get seconds and returns they are much cheaper.
However, those seconds are full of misspellings and improper usages. It
keeps him busy looking for them. He deserves your thanks for ferreting
them out.
For those of you who haven't yet written me, go ahead and take the
plunge. You can complain, criticize, ask questions, or offer suggestions.
I've even been known to answer such emails. Send them to
fritz@nehalemtel.net In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the following
chapter. Fritz
********************************************************************************
I Love Corey, Chapter Fifty-three
I had a giggling Corey with me in the shower. Last night had
produced two sweaty, sticky people and as such required another shower.
I'd noticed that we smelled somewhat raunchy when I woke up. Still, the
shower was fun and actually woke me up. I was a lot more alert when I was
finally dressed and headed for the kitchen.
Dog intercepted me. He wanted out. That got me to thinking about
a pet door again. I really needed to remember to check and see what was
available. Then there was still the hole in the ceiling. Fortunately, the
shot hadn't made a hole in the roof, just the ceiling. It had also chewed
up a spot in one joist but I didn't think it would weaken things enough to
be a problem. Maybe I should call a contractor and see what could be done.
As I was fixing breakfast I realized I was a lot more cheerful.
Having Corey happy made my whole world look better. That attitude seemed
to rub off on JJ and LT. We were all in a good frame of mind by the time I
headed off for school. I even had a meatloaf sandwich in my lunch. Things
were definitely looking up.
About the only thing of interest during our morning meeting was
that Larry Morris, one of the English teachers, brought up Cody Sterrett.
Cody had moved to our district during the summer and I wasn't really
acquainted with him. I didn't have him in any classes and he had never
come in and talked to me. He was a real quiet ninth grader. Larry seemed
to think he was having some kind of problems because his grades were down
from what his transcript had suggested he should be earning. He also
mentioned that Cody didn't seem to have any friends. The subject got
kicked back and forth amongst us and everyone seemed to think I ought to
talk with him. I tried to point out that I barely recognized him and that
maybe one of the teachers who had him in a class would be better suited to
talk with him but the next thing I knew I was scheduled to talk with him
during my morning free period on Monday. That would give me a little time
to try to find out some things about him. The rest of the meeting finished
with the usual announcements and it was off to greet the vast hoard.
Since this was Thursday I had second period free. I hooked up my
laptop and pulled Cody's records. Larry was right. Cody had gone from an
A- student to a C- one. His grades had been good until his last grading
period of last year. Then they just crashed. In fact the C- he was
earning this year was up from the Ds he had gotten. Obviously something
had happened. The question was what. It sure didn't appear in his family
history. I made a few notes and figured I had about all I could get from
his records so I finished grading some papers. After that the morning went
about like normal.
Brad Conner, the football team's quarterback, stopped in at lunch
to ask about some more exercises. I had given him some to help build him
up for next year when he would be in high school. He reported how he was
doing and I suggested a few more things he could do to help him get ready.
I figured he probably wouldn't start next year but thought there was a
pretty good chance he would his junior and senior years. If he kept
improving he might even get a scholarship after high school. It probably
wouldn't be to one of the big teams but perhaps he might aspire to
something like San Diego State or Fresno State. Unless he grew more than I
thought he would, he probably wouldn't be big enough to be recruited to
teams like The University of California or Southern Cal. Big name schools
could pretty much take their pick of athletes and rarely picked what would
be considered an undersized quarterback.
As he was getting ready to leave I asked him if he knew anything
about Cody. They were in the same grade so maybe he would have talked with
him or heard something about him. No such luck. Brad could only tell me
that Cody didn't seem to have any friends and the few that had tried to get
acquainted with him had said he didn't seem to want to talk to anybody.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful and soon I was dropping
the boys off for work. This would be the last week in which they worked
during the week. Next week it would change to only working weekends,
specifically Saturdays. After dropping them off, I hurried home. I was
going to work on a presentation for them. They had been whining because I
was insisting they save their wages. So far I had talked them into it but
I really needed to come up with some good reasons for it. However, I had a
plan.
It didn't take long to gather up the necessary information. After
doing that I started dinner. When it was time I picked up the boys and
then finished dinner. When we had eaten and put the dishes in the
dishwasher, it was time to see if I could teach them a little about money.
So far they all had about five hundred dollars each in take home pay that
they wanted to spend.
I started off by telling them that if they would invest half of the
money, I would match it. Of course that went over like a lead balloon.
They wanted to spend it.
"Look guys, you're still getting your allowances and you really
don't need to spend that money. Besides, if you invest it, it will grow
far more than you realize. If you put it in something like a Roth IRA and
let it stay there until you retire, I'll bet you have no idea of what it
will turn into for value. What do you think five hundred dollars invested
for fifty-four or five years would be worth?"
None of them had any idea. For the next hour or so I showed them a
bunch of different web pages and pointed out certain things. We started
with the fact that the stock market has grown at about eleven percent.
Actually it was slightly over that but we finally decided to use that
figure. Then I grabbed my calculator and plugged the numbers in. Before I
hit solve I asked for guesses. The highest was five thousand dollars.
They couldn't believe it when the answer was just over one hundred and
forty thousand dollars. Then I pointed out that they could add another
twenty-five or so dollars each week from their wages and I would also match
that. That was fifty dollars for forty-eight weeks for the rest of the
year or an additional twenty four hundred dollars. If they did that for
the next five years and then never put any more money in, that would mean
there would be about two hundred sixty-two thousand dollars when they were
sixty-eight. If they paid in at the same rate until they were thirty and
then quit paying in the total would be a little over five million when they
were sixty-eight. It took another hour to prove to them that I wasn't
wrong. Compounding really adds up. By starting now, they would have far
more than if they waited to start. I showed them that if they started at
twenty-two and paid in three thousand dollars for ten years they would end
up with about two and a half million but if they waited until they were
thirty-two and put three thousand in for the next thirty-six years they
would only have about a million and a quarter dollars. That extra ten
years really made a difference. Before it was over they about wore the
buttons out on my calculator. It had a simple time money program in it and
I found it handy. It did take them a little bit to get used to my
calculator though. It works in Reverse Polish Notation and has no equal
sign. Once they got the hang of it, they all wanted one like it. I left
them thinking about what I'd just showed them and if they wanted to start
an investment program we would look for some good mutual funds to invest
in.
They were so busy thinking about how much money they would have
that it took some real work to get them to do their homework. I was about
ready to get out the duct tape and tape them to their chairs before I
finally succeeded. Even then, the work was somewhat sloppy and I had to
make them do some of it over. Finally it was time for bed.
Corey was still excited over all the money he could earn. He
babbled on until I was about ready to gag him. The funny thing was that
with the way I was setting my will up, none of the boys would really need
any money. Still, it wouldn't hurt for them to learn something about money
and investing. He finally dozed off in the middle of one of my answers.
His head was on my chest so I just kissed the back of it and went to sleep
myself.
The contractor I had contacted came over Saturday morning to look
at the ceiling and offer suggestions about a pet door. He suggested
reinforcing the ceiling joist that was damaged and said he would have no
trouble repairing the ceiling. The only problem was the paint probably
would not match because it had been several years since the ceiling was
painted. He recommended building a dog house and placing it against the
outside wall with the pet door inside the dog house. The pet door would
actually be in the wall but the dog house would conceal it. That way no
one would notice it and it would also help stop the wind from affecting the
pet door. By the time it was settled I had agreed to have the whole
kitchen repainted and his suggestions regarding the pet door were accepted.
He told me that he would do the painting on Thursday and, since he was
going to paint the inside of the cabinets, I should probably figure on
eating out that evening. I told him we would empty the cabinets Wednesday
evening so he could get right at the painting.
The boys only worked their usual short shift. I wondered how they
would like it next Saturday when they put in a full eight hours but they
didn't seem to think it would be a problem. However, by the time they all
finished their shifts and we finally got dinner eaten it was getting late
and there wasn't much time left to check out mutual funds. They had
started on Friday evening and still had a lot more research they wanted to
do. I had bought a premium membership at Morningstar and turned them loose
on it. Then I had to point out that while one fund might do great for a
few years, what they needed to look for was one that had a good rate of
return over a long period of time. I suggested they limit themselves to
funds that had been in existence at least twenty years so they could see
how the fund did through various market conditions. I finally had to get
out another ream of paper because they had enough pages printed out to
destroy a forest. All I could do was wonder if they would ever be able to
sort out all that they were printing. The next thing was we had to put new
ink cartridges in the printer. I also had to explain the difference
between load funds and no load funds, expense ratios, and a bunch of things
I hadn't really thought about. They were still going strong and I was
beginning to think I would have been a lot better off to just take them to
a brokerage firm and let the firm explain it all. Still, they were all
revved up and it was good to see them doing research and learning
something. While they might be driving me nuts, it was well worth it. It
just went to prove what I had always believed and that was if you could
make the lesson personal and interesting, the student would work hard to
learn it. The trick was to meet those two conditions.
Wednesday night, when we got home, the pet door was installed. The
only problem was that Dog didn't understand what it was. It took a couple
of hours before he finally got used to it. After that, he bounced in and
out like a kid with a new toy. I wasn't sure he was going to stop running
in and out long enough to eat. Still, he was much like the boys. Food won
out in the end. After he had eaten it was once again click, click. The
sound of the pet door about drove all of us nuts. Dog would run out, then
run right back in. Then he'd repeat the whole thing again. He was so
happy with his door that he was prancing around when he was inside. He
didn't stay out long enough for anyone to tell what he was doing while he
was outside. I think he was disappointed that we wouldn't use his door.
Corey, being the smallest, might have been able to make it through the door
but I was sure that I couldn't. I somehow didn't want to have the fire
department come and free me from such a ridiculous trap. I just told Dog
I'd use the people door. I don't think he understood me.
By now the boys were trying to decide which, of the many funds they
had gathered information on, would be a good one to invest in. There was
the problem of fund minimums. That required them doing more research on
which funds they could buy. I pointed out that some funds would take less
for an initial investment if you agreed to contribute on a regular basis.
Back to Morningstar but this time I also suggested checking with some of
the brokerage firms and seeing what they could do. I was now pretty sure
we would have to talk with someone and see what could be worked out. A
broker should have any answers they needed. By now they had gone through a
ream of paper and had so many piles of paper around that the place looked
like a tornado had hit. I'd told them they had to get all those piles of
paper picked up so we could have guests on Friday but so far they hadn't
even started.
The guests were the Sterretts and Cody. This had all been arranged
after my talk with him, that is if you could call it a talk. I mean I
talked; it was just that he didn't. No matter how I tried I received at
best one word answers. Sometimes I didn't even get that one word. The
thing that really scared me was his attitude. It was like he didn't care
about anything. He was not really disrespectful, just withdrawn and sad
sounding.
On Monday evening I had called his folks. What I had thought would
only take a few minutes turned out to last a lot longer than I had planned
for. Not only that, I learned that they had no idea what the problem was,
only that they knew there was one. They had taken him to all kinds of
professionals trying to find out what was wrong with no results. The only
thing they had learned was that he hated his old school. When an opening
had come up at the local bank, they had moved because they hoped it would
help Cody. So far it hadn't. I found myself getting pulled into something
that I had no idea what it was or how it would turn out. All I could
really say is that after talking with him I was worried.
Two evenings on the phone, with his parents, and we were going to
try something. Normally I would have put it off because of the painting
but the way Cody acted made me afraid to do that. Friday was the quickest
I could work it in so Friday would have to do. I just hoped I could get
the kitchen cleaned up enough to cook in.
So far about the only things that had gone right were the pet door
and Gail's tutoring. Dog was happy with his door and Gail was doing much
better without her grandmother watching. In fact, I couldn't believe how
much better. It was like she relaxed and paid attention. I hadn't noticed
that she was so tense with Mrs. Darling watching her.
I was even getting better acquainted with Derrick and Kathy. They
were at the store whenever I tutored Gail and were pretty easy to keep
occupied. I helped them with their homework. Changing schools had raised
some problems. The texts were not the same and some subjects were taught
in slightly different orders. I'd get Gail working on something and then
spend a few minutes helping Kathy and Derrick. Mostly it was just filling
in some of the blanks for them. Both Kathy and Derrick seemed to be good
enough students so that it shouldn't take long to get everything under
control. JJ was still pretty nervous around her but she seemed to have
calmed down.
Lee seemed to be doing well. Every time I saw him, he was
grinning. He and Rob were interacting well and he appeared to be getting
along with his new brother and sister. So far Rob and I hadn't talked much
but at least we were speaking to each other. Both of us were a little
nervous about it but maybe that would go away after a while.
Anyhow, after dinner I once again told the boys to clean up those
piles of paper. The whining that went on was enough to drive me nuts. I
got all kinds of excuses about how it would mess things up and they would
have to start all over. Along with the whining were the usual eye rolls,
the ones where you know they are thinking `stuff it.' They did exercise
good judgment in not actually telling me to stuff it but managed to get
their thoughts across without that step. By the time the kitchen cabinets
were emptied and some of the boy's papers picked up, I was about ready to
wring their scrawny little necks. Of course the neck wringing would take
place after the ass kicking.
I was just about to ground them, maybe forever, when they figured
out that they had pushed about as far as they could. Of course that really
didn't help. I had gotten myself all worked up and now there was nothing
to vent over. For the last half hour before bed, they were model children.
I was looking for any excuse to light into them but they didn't give me
one. When they went to bed I got out a beer. I normally didn't drink much
beer but needed a little time to calm down. As I sat there drinking it,
Dog came over and put his head on my knee. Half a beer and twenty minutes
of scratching Dog and I was all calmed down. So was Dog. By now he was on
my lap and let me tell you he filled it. He was really enjoying the belly
rub. At least I think he was and the strange sounds he kept making sounded
like he liked it.
When I finally convinced Dog to get off my lap, he bounced out to
do his nightly duties. He was back by the time I had the lights turned off
and was headed for bed. He waited patiently until I opened JJ's bedroom
door and quickly jumped on JJ's bed. He curled up at the foot, his head on
LT's foot and wagged his tail. My suggestions that he should sleep on his
blanket had fallen on deaf ears. By now Dog just seemed to think his place
was on the foot of JJ's bed. I had heard JJ and LT coaxing him up there
often enough to realize why he thought that was his place.
By the time I finished my shower, Corey was asleep. He must have
realized he had pushed a little too hard because he didn't assume his usual
position. For the first time in a long time I didn't have his head on my
chest as I tried to fall asleep. It felt really strange. I didn't like
it.
He was on his side with his back towards me and after a while I
just spooned up behind him. It was a lot easier to fall asleep with the
odor of his hair in my nose. Also, it made me feel better just to have him
in my arms.
The boys were models of decorum Thursday morning. Sugar wouldn't
melt in their mouths. By now I was calmed down but they didn't seem to
notice. They went out of their way to prove they were good boys. By the
time I left for work I could hardly keep from laughing. Their actions were
so phony and out of character. Dog was the only one to act like he
normally did. I was still chuckling when I got to school and several of
the teachers asked what was so funny. When I explained about last night
and how I was about to kill the boys, I got a lot of sympathy. For once
they seemed to understand and identify with me. Even Jerry giggled. We
laughed about it for a while and I suggested that all the teachers give the
boys a long serious look and see what results they got. They had managed
to get to me and now I might be able to do the same to them. After all,
what goes around comes around. Revenge is so sweet. I was really
beginning to enjoy this.
I managed to keep a straight face, in the wake of their timid
greetings, as we headed home. After those greetings the ride was
accompanied with silence. I dropped the boys off at home and hurried back
to Downie's so I could tutor Gail. I really wished I could hear what they
were saying to each other.
Gail continued to make good progress and Kathy and Derrick were
just about caught up with their classes. Ellen and I visited for a few
minutes and things were going well at the store. She even commented on how
well things seemed to be going with Lee and Rob.
I was somewhat surprised that Kathy and Derrick seemed to be
accepting Lee so well. They seemed to like having an older brother.
Derrick almost worshiped Lee and Kathy was very accepting of him. That
told me that Rob was doing a good job of making sure everyone understood
that they were loved and wanted. Thinking about it made me decide that he
needed a little slack because of the strain he had been under. Maybe I
ought to invite them all to dinner Sunday evening. I'll have to think
about that. We still needed to talk about my pickup. Rob was still using
it and I still hadn't decided what to do about buying a full sized one. I
knew it was silly because I had way more money than I could ever spend but
it just seemed that a new pickup was a lot of money for the amount I would
use it. My folks had pounded in the lesson that one shouldn't just throw
money around and I was having a hard time overcoming that lesson. It
wasn't that I didn't spend money; just that it seemed silly to buy
something I didn't really need.
Dinner was interesting. The boys were perfect gentlemen. Even
Billy and Larry seemed to pick up on what was going on and were much
quieter than usual. Still, they all managed to eat a large portion of
their pizzas. It was getting harder for me to keep a straight face. To
have five boys acting with such good manners was almost more than I could
stand. I was beginning to wonder if I could find a place where the boys
couldn't see me and just roll on the floor, laughing for a while. To see
them acting with such good manners was worth the exasperation I had felt
last night. Now if I could just figure out how to get them to act that way
all the time.
I really liked the soft, creamy yellow I had selected for the
kitchen walls. It made the natural finish cabinets look better and
brightened the room up. Since the range was stainless steel and black, it
fit in well. I'd been thinking of getting a bigger refrigerator and now
had a good excuse to do so because the color didn't go well with the walls.
I could put the present one in the garage and keep soft drinks for the boys
in it. I needed to buy a new front panel for the dishwasher and it would
then match the range. All in all I was happy with the results.
That got me to thinking. I asked the boys if they would like
different color schemes in their bedrooms. That started them thinking and
they seemed to forget they were trying to be such nice boys. In a short
while they were acting about like normal, their exemplary behavior
forgotten. For myself, I was surprised it had lasted as long as it had.
At least I no longer had to fight myself to keep from laughing.
I was disappointed that I couldn't put the stuff back in the
cabinets. I'd been advised to wait until tomorrow to do so but at least I
had nothing after school so hopefully I could get most of it done before
the Sterretts showed up. It was going to be a busy day. At least dinner
would be fairly easy. The weather forecast was for decent weather so I was
going to fix some steaks on the barbeque, some twice baked potatoes, a
salad, braised asparagus, some biscuits, and a shrimp cocktail as an
appetizer. I figured some homemade sorbet for dessert would finish it off.
We finally went to bed. I left the window cracked to help with the
odor of fresh paint. While it wasn't strong, I liked the odor of Corey
better. He seemed a little hesitant but when I kissed back, he relaxed and
got into it. From there on, things got better.
Corey was in a take charge mood. Maybe it was because he felt bad
about yesterday but I didn't really care what the reason was. I just
enjoyed what he was doing. The kisses soon gave way to a little nibbling
on his part. His warm breath on my ears, combined with that nibbling felt
good. I could really spend the rest of my life being treated like this.
There was just us, no other were necessary.
My only complaint about Corey's lovemaking is that he is still a
little impatient. He wanted to hurry, thinking that climax is the object.
I, on the other hand, know that climax is just the end result. The real
joy is in making love. To have the one you love nibbling on your ears and
running his hands lightly over you is much better than anything else in the
world. Still, he is getting better. He nibbles longer and slower than
when he first made love to me.
Understand, it's not that I don't like to get off. It's just that
with Corey there are other things that are more important. I like to smell
and feel him. His odor is mild and makes my mouth water. Sniffing his
hair is like smelling the best meal you have ever had. It just makes your
mouth water. Every time we make love, I have to swallow a lot and that's
before I get my reward from him.
As he continued to nibble, I felt so loved. It is hard to describe
how much the feel of his teeth on my ears turned me on. The gentle
scraping sent shivers throughout me. Having his warm body touch mine
raised my pulse and made me eager for more. I just wanted to squeeze him
to me and maybe we could become one person. One person united throughout
eternity. When he made love to me I no longer thought of him as a boy but
rather as the half of my soul that was missing. With him in my arms I felt
complete.
Much before I was ready his nibbling moved on. Some licking and
soon he reached my nipples. As far as I was concerned he could continue to
do that the rest of the night. I might be tired in the morning but I would
be happy. I could feel myself twitch and shiver but he never slowed down.
He just kept raising my pulse. Then he moved over to my armpit.
A shower had removed the worst of the odor and he nuzzled right on
in. His slightly raspy tongue both tickled and stimulated me. As he
continued to lick and nuzzle my armpit I lost all ability to control
myself. I was lost in a world of sensation. The nice thing was that those
sensations were caused by Corey. I'd had sexual encounters with others
before Corey but all of them combined could not begin to equal how he made
me feel. On a critical level, some of them were as proficient as Corey at
the physical aspects of making love but none of them made me feel the way
he did. Not even close. The half a dozen or so people I had affairs with
couldn't equal Corey even if you added them all together. I had thought I
loved them at the time but that was before I learned what love really was.
Love is so much more than just the physical aspects of sex. The
emotional content is what makes it special. With Corey there was an
emotional connection that defies description. I can only say I needed him
and he seemed to need me. Both of us were better because of the other.
Sure, we could get peeved at each other but the love was always there. No
matter what, we would continue to love each other. Even if circumstance
forced us apart there would always be a special place in my heart for him.
I just hoped such a thing would never happen. When we were apart I worried
about people finding out about us and breaking us up. When we were
together, like tonight, all those fears were gone, snuffed out by his love
and our contact.
I was so lost in my world that it took a while to notice he had
made his way to my navel. Somehow my mind wouldn't really work when he was
making love to me. It was like I was suspended in a warm comfortable place
and I didn't have to do anything except enjoy being there. Nothing
mattered except Corey. Nothing existed except Corey and the feelings he
brought forth in me.
While my mind might have been floating, my body wasn't. His tongue
sent little jolts of pleasure shooting out from where it touched. Now that
he was working on my navel, those jolts were radiating from my middle. I
could feel a tingling sensation all over me. It was a delightful tingling.
It made me want more of it. Corey didn't disappoint me and he just kept
probing my navel with his tongue. It was like he was trying to burrow his
way into me through my navel. It tingled and tickled. It felt good. All
I could do was lie there and twitch and enjoy. My hands were moving of
their own volition, running over and through his hair. Something about the
silky feel of that hair comforted me. I loved the feel of it slipping
between my fingers. He was really due for a hair cut but when making love,
I liked it long. There was more of that hair for my fingers to toy with.
My mind was just getting used to having him tease my navel when he
moved down. Suddenly things were getting intense. His hot mouth engulfed
me and it was off to the races. I could have no more resisted him than I
could have stopped breathing. It was something my body would do no matter
what I wanted to do. In this case I didn't want to resist. I was
perfectly happy to go along with him, enjoying the trip.
His tongue teased and rubbed my manhood. The sensations set me on
fire. I could no longer do anything except shiver and tense. Then I could
feel his throat swallowing.
He was between my legs and my head was still on the pillow. I
could see the top of his head. Then I'm not sure how he did it but I was
looking right into his eyes. I could feel his throat keep swallowing and I
could see his face. Not well but what I could see was smiling. How he
could smile with his mouth full was beyond me but who cared. I sure
didn't.
It no longer mattered. My body started to arch and every muscle
tensed. I felt like I was going to explode. Then, somewhere deep inside
it started. It didn't take long but it was intense. As my body jerked and
thrust, it was like my soul was being shared with him. I was done.
The next thing I remember was Corey kissing me. I could taste
myself mixed with his delightful flavor. I wanted to tell him how much I
loved him but I could not speak. All I could do was weakly hold him.
After a few kisses he assumed his usual position. My arm found his
shoulder and rubbed it. By the time I was ready to try to tell him how
much I loved him, he was asleep.
To be continued...
Yes, I know there are many different rates of return quoted for the
stock market. From 1926 through 1990 the rate was 11% and for 1990 through
2000 it was 18%. For other periods of time the rate will be different.
Also, if you factor in inflation, the real rate of return will be less.
All those numbers make it hard to come up with what numbers to use. Some
people say we should not expect the same rate in the future and offer all
kinds of reasons why. When all is said and done, the numbers I used were
for a reason. I happen to feel that there is no reason why the rate of
return need be lower. The advance of our economy is driven by technology.
As long as Americans continue to be inventive, the rate should continue in
my opinion. As I see it, the only thing that might stop that inventiveness
is if the government interferes too much. When left alone, Americans show
a remarkable ability to improve their lot in life through hard work and a
keen mind. Contrast that with totalitarian countries. When the state is
looking out for you and you cannot rise above others, people quit trying.
Yes, I'm a capitalist. I happen to believe in our country. In the
eighties people were saying America was done. They were saying that Japan
was better than we were. Then America pulled up its sleeves and got back
to work. Today we are the envy of the world. Why else do you think people
try to get here? Other countries may denigrate us but if you look closely
at them, in most cases I think they are jealous. Sure, there are lots of
flaws in our country and we make mistakes and we should strive to fix those
problems and mistakes but in my opinion it is still the best country on
earth. There are other countries that are close but in the end, none offer
the freedom to improve your lot in life that America does. I suppose I
should get off my soap box.
The second reason for selecting that set of figures is that it is
easier to make a sale with a somewhat rosy set of figures. I would
suggest, that when trying to make such a sale to young people, that you use
a somewhat optimistic set of figures. It makes a more dramatic
presentation. Be sure to tell them that you are only going on past
performance and that future performance may not match it, but if you use a
long baseline and explain that baseline, they will understand and accept it
for what it is. I would personally expect to see a return of around seven
percent in real dollars. That should take care of inflation. Remember it
is easier to sell lemons by telling how good lemonade is rather than how
sour lemons are and the goal is to get them started.
The important thing to remember, no matter what set of numbers you
use, is that time makes the big difference. Use the rule of 72s. That
rule says that if you divide seventy-two by the expected rate of return,
the answer will be the number of years it takes to double your money. For
example, if the rate of return is ten percent, it will take 7.2 years to
double. If you let the money work for a little over fifty years, it will
double seven times. Think about how that works. If you started with two
thousand dollars, the first doubling would make it four thousand, the
second eight thousand, the third sixteen thousand, the fourth thirty-two
thousand, the fifth sixty-four thousand, the sixth, one hundred
twenty-eight thousand, and the seventh, two hundred and fifty-six thousand.
The earlier a person starts, the more the money grows. If you raise the
rate of return to 12 % you will get one more doubling which would make your
two thousand dollars into a little over a half million. If you lowered it
to eight, it would subtract one doubling and leave you with one hundred
twenty-eight thousand. That's still a pretty good return for a two
thousand dollar investment. If you wait until thirty to start, you lose
about one and a half doublings.
Lastly, I can only state that I wish I had understood the power of
compounding better when I was young. I'd have a lot more money to look
forward to in my retirement when it gets here. Of course if all you
readers would like to send me a few hundred thousand dollars, I'd be happy
to drink a toast to you. I'd even say a prayer or two for you. Fritz