Postcards: Fatherhood is Painful

Well, this Saturday didn't go as planned. ͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­ Forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]() for more You are a free subscriber to Postcards from the Florida Republic. To upgrade to paid and receive the daily Republic Risk Letter, [subscribe here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Postcards: Fatherhood is Painful]( Well, this Saturday didn't go as planned. [Garrett {NAME}]( Feb 24   [READ IN APP](   Dear Fellow Expat: “I wish I was in Maryland,” my daughter said this morning. “Because they have snow days.” Ah… snow days. A thing Amelia doesn’t know. The anticipation the night before that snow would come. Getting up at 6 am to see the ticker at the bottom of WBAL – local Baltimore news. Would there be a 2-hour delay for Baltimore County schools (Boo)… or would it show that illustrious signal: “Baltimore County - All schools closed.” Snow days were made for sledding. In Baltimore County, Maryland, two places topped all expectations as a kid—the hill at St. Pauls School in Lutherville. Or the one closer to us: The massive downhill run at the headquarters of the Baltimore County Public Schools. There was some irony that on the day that the officials at this building canceled schools because of roads, every kid within two miles would drag their parents to the feet of this building. Ribs and Sledding When I was five years old… my father promised me that we would go to dinner at the Corner Stable. It’s a dive bar renowned for its ribs in Cockeysville, MD. That afternoon, we ventured to this hill for sledding after a wild snow storm. And after a long hour of sledding, my father took a tube down this hill. You can see a storm drain – barely in this picture to the far left, and the formation of a ditch that leads to this guardrail. My father went over that small pop in the terrain and steered toward that ditch. And when he braced the ground with both legs, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee. He didn’t say anything about the injury, although my brother was helping him up and getting him to the car. My father… before going to the hospital – still took me to dinner. I haven’t forgotten this. This injury was the onset of a lifetime of knee challenges that he has had, including a yearlong period of replacing both joints about a decade ago. Today… in the world of fatherhood, it seems… the world comes full circle. Seeing Stars And so… Good afternoon from the PulseMD Urgent Care in Bonita Springs, Florida. About half a mile from that skiing hill, I practiced lacrosse at the neighboring high school. While playing catch before practice, a senior on the Varsity team wasn’t paying attention and fired a full shot blast from the top right side of the box. I was about 15 feet behind the goal, not wearing my chest protector. The shot – coming in at roughly 90 miles per hour, caught the edge of my sternum. I’m lucky that’s all it did. But it dislodged a rib and has caused Costochondritis in my chest for the last 15 years. It’s been a lingering condition – and one I don’t recommend. Picture Chucky stabbing not too deep with an icepick repeatedly. About two hours ago, I took my daughter to lunch. She’d been asking to go miniature golfing for the last few weeks. We skipped the first hole. Eight players were in a party right before us, and they didn’t offer us to go in front of them on the practice green. And went to the second hole. She hadn’t played and started wailing at the ball to get it up the hill. I told her not to swing so wildly. She couldn’t get the ball up the hill at the sixth hole. I asked if she wanted help. She said yes. With that, I stepped behind her and put down her EpiPen. And with that, Little Tigress Woods took a full swing, and the tip of the putter came in directly to that spot on my sternum. I collapsed and started seeing stars. She kept apologizing but didn’t realize the extent of the injury at first. When she finally did, she ran to the hole and started crying. I was down for about six minutes and lay in the sun while I called my wife.   My wife offered to pick her up – but I decided to play the round. While I wanted ribs when I was her age… she wanted some specific ice cream that they only sell at this miniature golf location. So, after two more tortured hours of slow-moving miniature golf and a $6 (that’s right) – ice cream from a vending machine… I’m now waiting for X-rays on my chest. At best, there’s no serious injury, just a nasty bruise. But I can tell that a rib is dislodged – and I’ll likely need a chiropractor to help adjust it. I hope there isn’t a crack here. On top of that…my concern is that this location is packed with sick people… And if I get whatever they have… I’ll have a cough in the days ahead. That will go GREAT with a rib injury. What a day… Garrett’s Trades Today, I will delay much commentary on the market. I’ll do my usual Republic Speak story tomorrow – with a complete look at the week ahead. Instead, I want to answer someone’s question. One of my longest-time readers asked for a list of the specific trades we employ here in the Florida Republic. So, I’ll offer that list today… and we’ll talk about how we trade each in future issues. It’s good to have some fun with the ideas. Buffett Beach Bid: Credit Spreads [Under Buffett’s Buy Range for Occidental]( The Velvet Rope: Selling similar Credit Spreads on Insider Buying on Insider Momentum. This follows the same strategy as the Buffett Beach Bid, but it’s not based on one stock. We want stocks with very liquid options chains that are typically members of the S&P 500. Alligator Alpha: Momentum Trades vital, positive RSI, MFI, MACD, and ADX. These can be in the money calls or straight stock purchases. A Pirate Looks at Shorting: Buying Inverse ETF when Equity Strength Reading Goes Negative. We use the Inverse Russell 2000 (RWM). The Capital Wave: F score 6+, Price to Graham <0.6, Low Debt-Equity Ratio, ROIC 15%+ (Reversion). This is the basis of our Model Portfolio. The Uncle Ron: When we buy cheap operating earnings and strong ROIC. Long-Term Play. These names should be at least members of the Russell 2000. Tamiami Turnaround - Buying a stock when RSI is under 30, MFI under 20, and discounts to core metrics with Poor Man’s Covered Calls. Typically we focus on Large Cap stocks with great fundamentals and management. This is “Buying the Dip,” Cassadaga Clusters- Named after "Psychic Capital of the World,” we’re buying the same stock alongside many corporate insiders, focusing on the CEO and CFO. We like when many people from the same company purchase the stock at the same time. We’ll dig into these trades all week at Republic Risk Letter – and in Postcards. Stay positive (and off golf courses), Garrett {NAME} Secretary of Defense Disclaimer Nothing in this email should be considered personalized financial advice. While we may answer your general customer questions, we are not licensed under securities laws to guide your investment situation. Do not consider any communication between you and Florida Republic employees as financial advice. Under company rules, editors and writers cannot recommend their positions. The communication in this letter is for information and educational purposes unless otherwise strictly worded as a recommendation. Model portfolios are tracked to showcase a variety of academic, fundamental, and technical tools, and insight is provided to help readers gain knowledge and experience. Readers should not trade if they cannot handle a loss and should not trade more than they can afford to lose. There are large amounts of risk in the equity markets. Consider consulting with a professional before making decisions with your money.   [Like]( [Comment]( [Restack](   © 2024 Garrett {NAME} 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 [Unsubscribe]() [Get the app]( writing]()