Subject: Re: Hold the damn stock
As I've mentioned here before, my first substantial BRK purchase was an A share for $60K (+/- a couple of percent) during spring break 2000. (Next time I'm really bored, I can head for the basement and find the binder with the exact price and date.) (And commission!). I continued to steadily add to the position x many years.

Since retirement, I now sell 1.125% of my BRK every quarter to fund most of our living expenses, at least until I start collecting SS at age 70. While those quarterly sales are ostensibly Jan 1, Apr 1, July 1, and October 1, I have been known to jump the gun by up to a few months when the price has had one of these occasional sudden increases.

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In other news: Many years ago when I started in practice as an oncologist, I tended to start the occasional reply to a patient/family member/nurse's question with, "Well, I don't have a crystal ball, but..."

Presumably I used that line too habitually, as after a few years of this my staff got together and bough me a substantial (3-4 lbs?) clear glass spherical paperweight for my birthday. It sat on my desk for the next 25 years or so (and I won't say that I never consulted it) (1)

Anyhow, DS2 recently went into practice in a closely related specialty, so for his last birthday I gave him my crystal ball with a note to the effect that I hoped it will serve him as well as it served me.

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So, absent my crystal ball, I jumped the gun and sold the March 31 tranche last week at $482.

I may have to ask him to consult the orb and see if I should sell the June 30 tranche now, while the getting is good.

For the moment, I guess I'm stuck asking you guys?

-- sutton

(1) (for one thing, the Oncologists' Union forbids the use of the words "never" and "always")