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Always count your money.
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“My father told me, that my grandfather told him, whenever he got some money, no matter where or who he got it from, to count it and see if it was all there. He said you can’t trust no one when it comes to money — not even people in your own family.
One time my grandfather gave my father what he said was $1,000 and sent him to the bank with it. The bank was thirty miles away from where they lived. It was about 100 degrees in the shade — summertime in Arkansas. And he had to walk and ride a horse.
When my father got down there to the bank, he counted the money and there was only $950. He counted it again and got the same amount: $950. So he went on back home, so scared he was just about ready to shit his pants. When he got back he went to my grandfather and looked at him and said that he lost $50. So Grandpa just stood there and looked at him and said, ‘Did you count the money before you left? Do you know if it was all there?’ My father said — no, he didn’t count the money before he left. ’That’s right,’ my grandfather told him, ‘because I didn’t give you nothin’ but $950. You didn’t lose anything. But didn’t I tell you to count the money, anybody’s money, even mine? Here’s $50. Count it. And then go ahead back and put that money in the bank like I told you.’ Now what you got to keep in mind about all of this is that not only was the bank thirty miles away, but it was also hotter than a motherfucker.
It was cold of my grandfather to do that. But sometimes you’ve got to be cold like that. It was a lesson my father never forgot and he passed it on to his kids. So today I count all my money.”
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[...] Miles Davis had style for miles, so to speak… Yeah, we’re walking a fine line of being tediously cliche, but the fact remains that whatever Miles did — music, women, heroin, dressing — he did it to the fullest. And like a true artist, his style was always evolving, innovative, relevant, and definitely full of surprises. You may not have always understood him, but you could appreciate his artistry. Sometimes, that’s all a man can ask for. People may not always appreciate how you go about things, but you can’t be denied if what you deliver at the end of the day is special. Go ahead and read into that whatever it is you want… [...]