“They’ll let you buy fresh dough and do it yourself,” Harrison offered. “You just get it in a big ball of dough, take it home and make your own. It’s cheaper!” I started thinking about flour all over the kitchen counter (and floor), chopping up dozens of ingredients, a hot oven and my spotty history […]

The only thing she had left of him was his estate. If she lost that, she would lose him. It became obvious in our first conversation that she wasn’t here to talk to me about stocks, bonds, houses, buildings, businesses, or timberland. She had inherited all of that from her father.  From a purely financial […]

“If I have my mind, I can work.” “Great,” I answered. “Let’s test that theory out.” I opened my drawer and pulled out a hammer, laying it gently on the desk between us.  “Please place your hand palm down on the desk,” I said. “Your off-hand is fine. And please don’t move it…the hammer can […]

What’s got you stuck? Consultant Bobb Beihl tells of a time he was behind the scenes of an Arizona circus and started chatting with a man who trains animals for Hollywood movies. “How is it that you can stake down a ten-ton elephant with the same size stake that you use for this little fellow?” […]

When Tyler left, Melinda cried. She cried because he was a kind, thoughtful young man who reminded her of her own sons, whom she had also seen leave the nest. In the month or two he’d lived with us, he’d unconsciously worked his way into her heart. I also got a little misty-eyed…without being asked […]

It would be a one-time expense.  He was not asking my permission. He was notifying me of a change I was now being tasked to make in his retirement plan.  He drove that change to our meeting. I had not previously thought of him as a tricked-out Escalade kind of guy, but there he was […]