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Ask Attorney
Ken Gross
for openers
Not Music to the Ears
W
hat is the most prominent
way to distinguish a rhino
from a hippo? (Come on,
you know this has been a pressing
question for you!) It is the horn, of
course.
That protuberance’s name has
shaped itself into a colorful addition
to our everyday talk
as may be noted in the
following.
Ever been really
proud of an accom-
plishment? When you
mention it (or boast
Sy Manello
or brag), you may be
Editorial Assistant
said to be tooting your
own horn. (See? It is
not limited to trumpeters.)
Can’t decide on a course of action
because the outcomes you face pose
other problems? You are on the horns
of a dilemma.
For those of us who remember
when a phone did not fit into a pock-
et or, better yet, when you had to use
a rotary dial, you may have been said
to be on the horn — a slang term for
the telephone.
Are you ready to face a situation
head on? Then you are ready to take
the bull by the horns. Make sure, how-
ever, that you do not lock horns (have
a squabble) with someone who is also
involved in the decision you make.
All too often, we commuters are
familiar with the driver who is too
eager to give someone the horn.
Yes, he is tooting his own, but in an
annoying rather than a boastful way.
To be better at social interaction,
you may consider not always trying
to horn in on someone’s conversation
or plan; you may be asking for a hit
on the horn.
Apparently, there is a baseball
phrase: around the horn. The ball is
passed from third to second to first,
often after a strikeout. The phrase
can also be used to mean the long
way around or using a difficult route.
(This is a reference to a time when
ship routes had to go around Cape
Horn in South America, pre-Panama
Canal.)
Did you lose financially on a deal
recently? You came out on the little
end of the horn. You may then be
advised to draw in (or pull in) your
horns: Act more carefully — especial-
ly with finances.
For stock car enthusiasts out there,
I learned that you can use the chrome
horn: You nudge the car in front to
indicate your intent to pass. (Please,
on the racetrack only.)
Be aware that all of these special
uses may be confusing to a green-
horn, so be cautious when using
them. ■
commentary
Ref lections on the High Holy Days, 5779
T
he Kol Nidre service was
beautiful, as always. The
music was powerful, the ser-
mon inspirational and the warmth
of the Temple Israel community was
palpable. Everything
was just perfect. Kind
of.
As I took it all in,
sitting with my wife,
my thoughts drifted
once again to the
Mark Jacobs
reality in my life that
my two sons — and
now their wonder-
ful wives — no longer lived in
Michigan. That was not an epipha-
ny for me; it has been this way for
almost 10 years now. But sitting
at Temple at the High Holidays
somehow seems to punctuate this
reality, and for a moment or two
I started feeling a bit sorry for
myself. Around me were seemingly
happy families, many of whom were
multi-generational, and I couldn’t
help but look at them and, I hate to
admit it, feel a momentary tinge of
envy and sadness.
I was not proud of these emo-
tions. It made no sense, really. My
kids are doing great. Happily mar-
ried to two extraordinary women,
healthy, with terrific jobs and —
the greatest bonus of all — both
wives are currently pregnant. My
life is pretty darn perfect, and I
have absolutely nothing to really
complain about. In the scheme
of things, I am beyond blessed in
every sense of the word.
So how could I be so shallow in
the face of such amazing fortune?
How could my heart be anything
but filled with joy and gratitude?
What’s wrong with me?
Suddenly, as I sat there asking
myself these questions, everything
around me seemed to change. I
became acutely aware of my sur-
roundings in a whole new way,
as if my eyes had just adjusted to
darkness and I was now able to see
things more clearly and starkly. I
realized that the person sitting right
next to me has been undergoing
chemotherapy for breast cancer for
the past year. A friend a few seats
away had been widowed at a young
age with two young children. Two
seats in front of me sat a mother
besides her special-needs child.
It seemed that everywhere I
looked I recognized someone who
had undergone a real-life crisis. I
imagined that they were also lost
in their own thoughts, no doubt
reflecting on their own life chal-
lenges. Their roads were difficult
and at times downright somber,
whereas mine were, in all reality,
quite easy and problem-free.
My “problems,” in the famous
words of Humphrey Bogart’s char-
acter in Casablanca, “don’t amount
to a hill of beans,” and I felt silly
and embarrassed to have had even a
moment of self-pity.
Credit Card Debt
- Aargh!
Here we go again. Credit card debt is
higher now than it was in 2008 - when
the Recession virtually stopped the
world. When that happened, the banks
shut down available credit lines on credit
cards and equity lines by sending letters
to their users after they had already shut
down the use of the credit! Millions of
people were left with no cash in savings
and no available credit on their cards
and equity lines. There are two stories
here. First, and most important - if you
are carrying $30,000 or more of credit
card debt, paying 15% - 30% interest
- you are wasting valuable retirement
money because you're in the credit card
trap. You keep paying the minimums
or a bit more, but the balances never
go down - they usually go up - because
you have no cash left to buy things
after making your payments - so you
&KDUJHLW7KLVLVWKHELJJHVWÀQDQFLDO
mistake you can make. Multiply your
credit card balances, by 2.5%, then by
12 (months), and then by 10 (years) and
that is the amount of money you will
have wasted. (i.e. 50,000 x 2.5% x 12
x 10 = $150,000) - and that is without
earing any return on your money. The
second story is more telling - what do
you think will happen when economy
cools down? Call us today - we will
help you get out of the Credit Card Trap
DQGSUHVHUYH\RXUÀQDQFLDOIXWXUH
THAV GROSS has been solving
its clients’ business, tax and fi nancial
problems since 1982. Be sure to tune
in to the Law and Reality – Sunday
mornings at 11 AM on TV20.
thavgross.com lawandreality.com
30150 Telegraph, Suite 444
Bingham Farms, MI 48025
continued on page 8
jn
October 11 • 2018
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