...damn, (mutter, mutter) .... you'd think from all places, I could (mutter) ...at least get a little divine inspiration from my Creator .... from He who has all the answers - 'In Him all things are possible' yeah, right! This is what's called 'losing your religion.'

But these are the facts, and they are undisputed: Three Hands was not only a stellar blues artist. Unlike his predecessors, he was a virtual Einstein when it came to business matters. If he'd not picked up a guitar first, he probably would've been playing in the business big leagues with the likes of the Donald et al. He was that good.

When his records began to sell, he picked up the option to buy stock in the company that signed him. That company was absorbed by an outfit called Ho-Hum Entertainment, a division of a Japanese concern, So-So Amalgamated.... Merger, hostile takeover, whatever; over time the value of the stocks went up.

Thing is, there was another stockholder who would've profited big time by selling short if a tragic accident, like the death of a star performer, sent the value of the stocks into the crapper. Too bad I can't ask that stockholder some questions - then again, the answers he would've given me probably would've forced me to kill him myself, for I used to call him 'friend.'

Not that he actually did the dirty deed himself. He was too sophisticated for that. Enter Martel. "And the band played on...."

Oh, and God, if you're still listening, I know you're familiar with this quote from a Frost-y tongued poet:

"Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I'll forgive Thy great big joke on me."

Four Roses please, straight up no chaser. And keep 'em coming.