"Big Hat - No Cattle"

The Texas expression “Big Hat - No Cattle” refers to looking good versus having substance, a pithy though derisive remark, that carries a noteworthy message ... one that brings to mind an illustrative parallel from my youth.

In my collage days my driving demeanor was one of wild abandon. Speeding through an unmarked intersection, I was the cause of a major car pile up. Fortunately no one suffered serious injury and though bazaar, the other driver was deemed at fault. I knew otherwise, of course, but wasn't going argue the point having just wrecked my dad's new pick-up truck.

And here's where the story gets interesting. The other driver's insurance company not only took care of the vehicle repairs, they paid me five thousand Dollars to sign a non-injury release form. The irony of what followed is a life lesson well worth sharing.

Five Grand was a lot money back then and as the saying goes, it was burning a hole in my pocket. So I rushed out and blew the entire amount on General Motors most expensive model. Although I didn't realized it at the time, it was the personification of “Big hat - No Cattle.”

Had I instead taken my financial wind fall and invested in a few “blue chip” companies like Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Coca Cola, etc. The same $5000 would have grown to $500,000 today.

In other words the fancy car, long gone to the junk pile, in reality cost me a half million dollars! Had I shown a bit of restraint and purchased a new Chevrolet for $2,500, the lost opportunity cost would have been reduced to a quarter million dollars. Experience is an excellent teacher but can often exact a high price.

The message: the choices of today beget the outcomes of tomorrow ... for better or worse.

                                                             Sincerely, Roger L Caron