Birthdays and Anniversaries

The trick is to have some fun in between them! Were you forwarded this email? [Sign-up to Rude Awakening here.]( [Unsubscribe]( [The Rude Awakening] It’s come to our attention that you might be missing out on extra benefits exclusively for Rude Awakening subscribers. Check out our website where you can find archives, updates, and everything else included in your subscription. You can access it by [clicking here now](. Birthdays and Anniversaries - Mrs. Ring and my cousin, Corey, share a birthday today. - Celebrating the important people in our lives is essential. - Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Recommended Link [George Gilder: “Do NOT buy bitcoin until you’ve seen this.”]( [Click here for more...]( George believes something bigger – and potentially more lucrative – than bitcoin is emerging as we speak. It could ultimately transform the Internet and the world monetary system. And George recently went on camera to discuss his top stocks to buy to tap into that trillion-dollar potential. [Check The Footage Out Here]( Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Happy Friday! Once again, you’ve made it to the end of the week, when the morning coffee is sweetly aromatic and the evening glass soothes incredibly. I don’t know about you, but my smirk is especially pronounced today. It’s February 11th, and that’s a double birthday whammy. Pam turns 39+2 today, ahem. And my cousin Corey, who’s more like a brother though I’ve not mentioned him yet in the Rude, inexplicably turns 45! I’ve got a doozywhopper of a column for Monday, as inflation is insane and just hit a 40-year high. But it’s got lots of charts and tweets. And since it’s Friday and it looks like Joke Biden will thieve more oxygen through the weekend, it’ll keep. Let’s keep it light today. Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, 1970s-1990s My cousin Corey followed me around when we were children. Though he is two years younger than I am, he was a meaty, ferocious little tike. I was the skinny (really) cerebral cousin. He was big enough to beat up kids in my grade when they picked on me. I was grateful for that on more than one occasion. When we got to high school, I was the QB. A few years later, he was the outside linebacker on the state title-winning team. Growing up, I was sick of him tailing me and told him so often. It’s amazing how that feeling changes. Right now, I give anything to get him to follow me to Italy. But he’s a Joisey boy, born and bred, and thinks I’m a lunatic! To be fair, if our grandfather were still alive, he’d think I was nuts, too. Though Grandpa was an Italian-American who fought in WW2, he was far more American than Italian. Of course, if you mentioned the terms dego or WOP in his house, you’d get the belt. But that generation, though ziti-stuffed, was as patriotic as any family with WASP lineage. Today, I think only of the good old days. Happy Birthday, Cuz! Lest I risk sleeping on the couch, let me preface my good wishes to Pam with an aside. West Point 1998 I remember one of my high school best friend’s wedding at West Point, over 20 years ago, where I had the honor to be the Best Man. It was late 1998, and Bill Clinton was being impeached for his tryst with the intern. The wedding was awesome. West Point is a glorious place. I used to love going to the Army games with Eddie and his father. We went quite often, now that I think about it. The beautiful landscape. The autumnal flora and fauna. Leaves red, orange, yellow. (Between yesterday’s piece and today’s, you can tell autumn is my favorite time of year.) Lots of wine, women, and song. Old friends and their parents. A marriage made official with a light smack of the broad of the sword on the wife’s bottom… Welcome to the Army, Mrs. Gengaro! My best man’s speech went over well. Yes, I hammed it up and kept it light. (I’ve never understood the British tradition of cringeworthy best man’s speeches. Awful stuff.) But Second Lieutenant Edward Gengaro’s mother, Joan, who was practically my second mother growing up, said something to me that evening that I’ve never forgotten - and never will. Thinking of her husband’s Army career and how marriage would affect it, she softly said, “Jill is Edward’s first obligation in life now.” As I write this, her formidable yet gentle sentiment still resonates. Recommended Link [How to Ride The $14 Trillion Metaverse Boom]( [Click here for more...]( Silicon Valley insiders are OBSESSED with [this 9-letter word](. That’s because the Metaverse is set to trigger a projected $14 TRILLION market run. Tech giants like Mark Zuckerberg are already going “all in.” And some companies behind the tech megatrend have enjoyed 5x… 11x… and even 77x gains since 2020. Now, one legendary tech expert is revealing his #1 Metaverse investment for FREE to give you the best chance to profit off this megatrend. [See The Full Story Here]( Singapore 2011 About a dozen years later, Pam and I were married at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. What an incredible contrast. July 3, 2011, was a steaming hot, muggy day. I had a slight hangover from my small bachelor’s party at the Long Bar in the Raffles. (Yes, you must pay the toll and have a Singapore Sling there. After all, that’s where it was invented. The last time I was there, it was S$25, or about $18.60. Just one, and move on to beer, which isn’t much cheaper!) Luckily, we only had 22 guests, so we could all fit under the canopy. Justice Wee (really) presided over the ceremony. As we came to the end, Mr. Wee said, “I now solemnize your marriage.” Of course, in Singlish - which refers to the English-based creole language Singaporeans speak and also the way they pronounce English - it sounded like “sodomized.” To this day, Pam says that I was hearing things. All I know is that when I turned to my best man to see if I was crazy, he had tears streaming down his face from the laughter. Over a decade of marriage has confirmed to me that women hear only what they want to hear. Still, since that day, Pam has been my first obligation in life. Of course, I made adjustments with Micah’s arrival six years later. But she’s been my Penelope - though this modern version travels the world with her Odysseus. Happy Birthday, Darling! May you have many, many more. Wrap Up Thank you for indulging these past two days. As I get closer to the West, I’m getting excited about the move. But on Monday, it’s back to the markets. There are loads of signals to unpack. Inflation has roofed it. Stocks - especially the techs - got thumped yesterday. Bonds unsurprisingly took a hit. Commodities were off a bit. And cryptos also were down hard. In crashes, all correlations go to one. That means there’s only one safe place to be if that happens. And it’s the most counterintuitive place of all. Until then, have a wonderful, restful weekend! All the best, Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening P.S. I wrote on Wednesday about [Addison Wiggin’s gold nugget-packed Wiggin Session with Mark Moss](. I encourage you to head there and watch it if you can. When I teach recent graduates heading into the banking industry, I tell them one of the best ways to get ahead is to understand financial history. [This interview is an excellent use of your time]( if you want to know how we came to be in this mess and what you may be able to do about it. My favorite part was the government’s “[Return on Violence]( To me, that’s a more critical measure than GDP! [So head here]( when you’ve got a quiet moment. [Whitelist Us]( | [Archive]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Unsubscribe]( Rude Awakening is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We do not rent or share your email address. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Rude Awakening e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Rude Awakening, feel free to [unsubscribe](. Please read our [Privacy Statement.]( If you are you having trouble receiving your Rude Awakening subscription, you can ensure its arrival in your mailbox by [whitelisting us.]( © 2022 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. 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