Daily Speculations The Web Site of Victor Niederhoffer & Laurel Kenner Dedicated to the scientific method, free markets, deflating ballyhoo, creating value, and laughter;  a forum for us to use our meager abilities to make the world of specinvestments a better place.

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9/3/04
J. T.: Foxfire

For those who were wondering about suggestions for schoolin' your kids:

I grew up in Southwestern Virginia in the depths of the Blue Ridge Mountains. People who dwell there actually do have shoes, teeth, drive on paved roads and use bathrooms in which there is running water. But part of my education was a series of books called Foxfire. It was started in the depths of the Appalachians by a school teacher in a magazine but grew to a series of books of which the last, Foxfire 12, is coming out this year. One day when I get my chance to write a book of my accomplishments I will be able to list that series of books and its earlier magazines as ones that led to my Speculative Education, which I must admit was greater than what I learned in school.

Some of the curriculum:

banjos and dulcimers
log cabin building
moonshining
bear hunting
ginseng harvesting
mule swapping
horse tradin'
ghost tales
quilting
apple butter
herbal remedies
plant identification

Yeah I know it sounds like it is the agrarian, collectivist, downtrodden life but ya'll it ain't. It's about liberty, individualism, being self sustaining, and respecting others' rights and freedoms. I am proud to have been exposed to these books by my mother and family. I learn from them each and every day, and so to will my children. I know they make me a better trader as well.