Stop Sitting on Your Assets

What do the inventor of chess and compound interest have in common?

I’ll bet you haven’t been asked that question before.

Well, unfortunately for the inventory, he didn’t understand the power and paid for it with his life. Here’s how the story goes …

“The Emperor of China was so excited about the game of chess that he offered the inventor one wish. The inventor replied that he wanted one grain of rice on the first square of the chessboard, two grains on the second square, four on the third and so on through the 64th square. The unwitting emperor immediately agrees to the seemingly modest request. But two to the 64th power is 18 million trillion grains of rice — more than enough to cover the entire surface of the earth. The clever inventor did not gain all the rice in China; he lost his head.”

- Recently recounted by George Gilder

Don’t lose your head, too!

Understand the concepts of compound interest and you’ll not only keep your head, you’ll be financially set for the rest of your life. Let’s take a seriousStop Sitting on Your Assets look at compound interest and it’s affect on your finances.

The spectacular wealth achieved over time using the H.E.R.O.. Solution™ plan is made possible by the application of two basic, yet different mathematical principles of finance. The extreme success of this method lies in using “other people’s money” (OPM) based on simple interest and investing this cash acquired, or lending it out, using compound interest.

With simple interest, the amount charged for borrowing is only calculated on the capital owed in that month. Should another month go by, the amount of interest charged in that month is only calculated on the outstanding loan balance remaining.

When you borrow mortgage money, your balance remains the same using an interest-only loan or it declines with an amortized loan.

Why is compound interest such a crucial factor?

Compound interest is interest paid on interest. It is exponentially more profitable to receive compound interest, if you are the one lending out the money or, in other words, investing it.

Real Wealth L.A.W.™, which is talked about in lesson 12 and in Stop Sitting on Your Assets, should be applied to your choice every time you make the decision on where to put your critical cash. If each must pass these tests, which investment and savings vehicles out there would:

- Lock-In your principal,
- leave your funds Accessible and
- keep your assets Working?

To learn more about Real Wealth L.A.W. and how to keep your critical cash growing and protected, read Stop Sitting on Your Assets.

There you’ll not only find proven step by step wealth building strategies, you’ll find interesting and helpful facts about how the government taxes and how you can position yourself to make the most of these tax laws.

Get your personal digital copy of Stop Sitting on Your Assets to dig into all the lessons taught.

Did you realize that traditional wisdom would have you work for up to 5 weeks every year for free! (And it’s not donating your time to charity.) Find out about this travesty in the next lesson to come.

To make sure your loved ones don’t lose their head, send them a no-cost GIFT preview copy of Stop Sitting on Your Assets audio books are great to listen to in your down time. Send them this great free gift. They’ll thank you and remember you.

Erase Taxes from Your Retirement Savings

Imagine the freedom of knowing your retirement is accessible, liberated and protected from the IRS.

Think it can’t be done?

Well the wealthy have been protecting their money for years and with the tax laws and financial vehicles available today, it’s easy for you to use the same strategies.

There are ways to systematically take money out of your tax-deferred retirement accounts to get them repositioned into your S.A.F.E.T.Y. Fund™, a “side account faithfully earning tax-favored yields.”

Then they can begin churning out tax-favored returns that have the potential to never be taxed in the future. This will produce retirement income for you that can be as much as 50% more than if you left your money in your deferred qualified accounts such as IRAs or 401(k)s.

It’s possible the largest portion of the cash you securely set aside into your S.A.F.E.T.Y. Fund™ will come from your H.E.R.O. Solution™ plan and will be cash you received as 100% dollars.

Taxes never paid — taxes never owed.

If structured properly, your S.A.F.E.T.Y. Fund™ (a term introduced in the book “Stop Sitting on Your Assets”) will function much like a Roth IRA without the restrictions. But it’s actually better than a Roth because it allows funding without IRS income limitations or annual dollar caps on contributions.

This powerful combination works because it offers:

- No caps on your deposits.
- No limits on income.
- You pay simple interest.
- You earn compound interest.
- Level or decreasing borrowed funds.
- Create profitable arbitrage.
- Principal is safe and locked-in.

Those with Real Wealth Vision™ freely accept all the help Uncle Sam offers.

They use every potential tax advantage offered and you can too when you:

• Harvest your tax-free equity often.
• Keep the largest mortgage you can afford.
• Take the maximum tax deductions possible.
• Reinvest your tax refunds for maximum compounding.
• Pay all loan costs as deductible points.

The combination of these concepts, and a few not listed here but found in Chapter Twelve of “Stop Sitting on Your Assets,” creates a tax-advantaged, non-qualified retirement plan. The tax arbitrage created with this plan is the third secret of millionaires.

Would you like to be able to strategically get to your current qualified plan cash, like 401(k)s, IRAs, 403(b)s and 457s, without tax?

If properly structured, many individuals may be able to use these concepts to get to all their retirement fund money completely free of taxes.

Then, most everyone else will drastically, drastically cut the taxes they would have owed on the earnings from those accounts.

To learn more about how to not only grow your retirement income to the sum of millions …

and, then to also discover how to protect your precious cash from being overly taxed…

…just visit Amazon.com or pop over to my website if you’d like the hardcover or audio CDs where all these secrets are revealed. But you should really check out the full digital version of Stop Sitting on Your Assets with built-in audio to get the quickest and easiest access without waiting.

In my next post, we’ll chat about how to Become Your Own Bank. Wow … just imagine looking into the mirror and talking to the smiling loan officer at the “Bank of Yourself” whenever you need cash for college, cars or any other needs. Keep an eye on your inbox.

Don’t let your friends and family become subject to massive retirement tax losses. Save them from making major mistakes before it’s too late. Send them a no-cost GIFT preview copy of Stop Sitting on Your Assets. Remember, it also includes that wonderful imbedded professional audio built right inside those full four (4) no-cost chapters.

Importance of Knowing Critical Cash vs. Play Money

Critical cash is the lifeblood of your wealth. It’s crucial to have the ability to identify it, protect it and get it working for you. The bulk of your critical cash can be found in your:

• Prior tax-free gains earned from the sale of a house
• Future appreciation gains of current house(s) not yet cashed-in
• All retirement funds
• Any assets earmarked for long-term wealth and family protection

These are the largest portions of your wealth and should never be put at risk. They should always be accessible to see you through any of life’ unexpected surprises, expenses, and emergencies. More importantly for maximum wealth they should be constantly working earning compounding gains.

On the other hand, it’s also important to know which dollars of your wealth get the title of play money. This is cash you set aside for extras, for vacations to tropical islands, for that really fast red convertible, or for that birthday present you want to give a loved one but haven’t until now been able to afford it. Your play money is a small percentage of your total income and money that you can afford to spend frivolously.

Play money is just that. It is for you to play with and spend as you see fit. You don’t have to think responsibly about it, if that $1000 leather coat catches your eye and you can afford it, it’s yours. Your play money could be lost altogether without any major consequences in your family’s financial safety.

We’ve all heard it said that, “Knowledge is power.” Identifying the important components of your wealth and having a plan for its health guarantees you financial success. You’ve got to systematically recognize and separate these parts of your monthly income. Critical cash is most important and your play money is, obviously, your least important.

To understand and know which is which and how to protect your critical cash, read Chapter 6 of Stop Sitting on Your Assets. If you just want to get a taste of the book, grab the no-cost preview version that lets you read or listen to the entire text of Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 15.

Yes ... it includes the audio for free!

Get started on building your critical cash today. Get your own full copy of the Stop Sitting on Your Assets bestselling hardcover.

No time to read? Multi-task and listen to the full version digital book that includes complete audio along with full color illustrations ... in both English and Spanish. What a great way to get this valuable message. And maybe even learn another language in the process!

Funny … but it used to be that only the very wealthy had the luxury of having two categories for their money. Won’t it be nice when YOU have two categories: your own critical cash and your own play money?

Send your friends and family a no-cost GIFT preview copy of Stop Sitting on Your Assets and let them get started building their two money categories, too.

Never Violate Real Wealth L.A.W.

May I ask you three very important questions?

The answers you give to these questions will tell you if your money is in the right place.

1) Is your money locked in? Is your money in a safe place? Is it protected from risk of loss? Will you ever lose principal?

2) Is your money accessible? Are your funds easy to reach? Can you get to your money quickly and without penalty?

3) Is your money working? Does the place that holds your money provide a way for your assets to continuously earn a respectable compounding return?

To be sure you’re making the right choices when deciding where you put every dollar you control your financial vehicle should have “yes” answers to all three questions.

- Locked-in?

- Accessible?

- Working?

If you add the bonus that the vehicle you choose has a positive tax treatment, then it’s a sure winner. Almost a “no-brainer,” some might say.

If you ask yourself these three questions before every financial decision, you’ll be well on your way to creating the wealth you long for.

On page 86 of Stop Sitting on Your Assets, a term called “critical cash” is presented. This is the money extracted from the equity in your real estate.

It is considered critical and simply cannot be spent, used frivolously or handled lightly.

In other words, removing your equity and using your “critical cash” for any purpose other than strategic asset growth would be disastrous for your financial health.

You must nurture this asset and place it where the principal is always protected. Spending your “critical cash” on depreciating assets or everyday consumption would destroy the success of your conservative plan for becoming financially secure and comfortable for the rest of your life.

With your “critical cash,” it’s vitally important that you place it in a S.A.F.E.T.Y. Fund™. This is a tax favored financial vehicle or investment introduced in Stop Sitting on Your Assets that will enable you to answer yes to the three L.A.W. questions presented earlier.

The acronym S.A.F.E.T.Y. stands for: “Side Account Faithfully Earning Tax-favored Yields”.

For more information on the S.A.F.E.T.Y. Fund™ and how to protect your “critical cash,” placing yourself on the road to greater wealth, read Chapter 5 in Stop Sitting on Your Assets.

Get your no-cost digital preview copy of Stop Sitting on Your Assets now and begin using the same wealth-building strategies the financially affluent have been using for decades.

As always, I look forward to talking to you next time.

But why wait? Let’s get started building your successful future, today! Go to my website if you want to know more about how the principles in “Stop Sitting on Your Assets” can transform your own future.

Don’t forget to send a Gift Copy of Stop Sitting on Your Assets to your family and friends. Share the wealth by giving them a great no-cost audio book with full online color illustrations!

They’ll thank you for the great gift!

Early Mortgage Payoff Without Extra Payments?

One of the most dramatic results you can accomplish with the H.E.R.O. Solution™ (which is a concept explained in Stop Sitting on Your Assets) is to achieve a financial position where you could pay off your mortgage years ahead of schedule.

That’s right, I said “years” ahead of schedule … and do it without making extra payments.

This system actually taps non-functioning cash, applies the magic of compound interest and creates a leverage situation identical to financial arbitrage, which is the lifeblood of the banking industry.

Financial arbitrage is what huge banks and Wall Street firms do to strategically profit by recognizing price differences of identical or similar financial instruments and using that difference to make money.

For example if you borrow money from the bank to pay for your house, you can then use the money you gain (whether it’s from tax savings you gain or the actual cash you borrowed) to invest at a higher rate than the rate you’re paying to borrow.

Remember, when you borrow for your home, your interest is usually tax deductible and you’re really coming out ahead of the game if you also invest your tax savings. Why just blow “found free money”? Leverage it too…

In just the last few years, there has been a significant shift in the way forward-thinking people manage their assets to create wealth. Much of this shift has involved techniques of cash-flow management on the liability or debt side of their balance sheets that produces financial leverage … just like the big Wall Street moguls.

Most of us don’t tend to think we can use our debts to create more assets like the big guys.

Ultra-conservative arbitrage (the system banks use every single day) is created inside your own finances by the H.E.R.O. Solution™.

So, how does it work? You acquire other people’s money at simple interest and invest that cash in a principal protected and extremely safe vehicle that nurtures it in a tax favored and compound interest environment.

The results will amaze you.

The H.E.R.O. Solution™ puts you in a position to pay off your mortgage years earlier than you could have using traditional methods.

And what’s more miraculous? The investing rate doesn’t even have to be higher than the borrowing rate to achieve success. This means you can reach your goal no matter what mortgage rates are doing.

If you’d like to create this kind of wealth and opportunity for yourself, don’t just listen to me … take a look at what DAVE MUTI, an attorney and the President of ForgottenEquity.com, said about Stop Sitting on Your Assets:

“I have read dozens, if not hundreds, of financial books during my 16 years in the real estate industry and none of them have summed up such an easy to follow strategy for retiring wealthy as STOP SITTING ON YOUR ASSETS. Ms. Snow lays out a methodical approach that is full of “inside secrets of the wealthy” in an easy to read format. Not only does she explain “why” you need to do this she describes “where” your money needs to go in order to retire wealthy. If you are concerned at all about being able to retire; this is the book for you.”

The online preview version has the audio book imbedded right in it.
Take a look at the no-cost preview with audio at this web address.

Don’t put off starting the engine of your faster more efficient vehicle for the expressway to financial security.

While you’re going on the wonderful journey why not invite your family and friends along for the ride?

Send a FREE GIFT preview copy of Stop Sitting on Your Assets

Any time you’re reading or listening to your own digital copy of the preview or full version, you can always glance up at the top of the page and notice the “Tell a Friend” link.

Use it often…

How to Keep the IRS from Taking Your Retirement

With your real estate appreciating over the long term and your other assets possibly increasing ten-fold in your lifetime, you could potentially be creating huge unexpected tax problems both for yourself and your heirs.

A large taxpayer retirement account, in combination with extreme house values, increases the chance that your estate will be targeted by the Federal estate tax … and this is on top of your federal income tax.

Estimates are that estate and income taxes could eat up as much as 70% to 75% of your retirement assets under certain circumstances.

Wow! What a surprise your heirs would have to discover the vast majority of the money you worked so long and hard to accumulate for them was taken away and all swept into the government’s coffers in taxes!

What can you do?

Protect your money!

Here are two ways to secure your future and that of your heirs.

1) Always maximize your participation in any 401(k) employee sponsored plans, if (and only if) you receive employer matching of at least 50 cents on each dollar. When you don’t take advantage of these programs you are throwing away money. Why? Because you have someone else pay your taxes at withdrawal. It’s the same as not incurring taxes at all. It’s a real no-brainer.

2) Investigate whether you qualify for a Roth IRA. The caps and limits in the rules eliminate the Roth IRA for many people and they only allow you to protect a certain amount each year, a few thousand to be exact.

Most people think these two are our only choices for smart retirement saving.

Most people are wrong!

What if I revealed to you that you could go way beyond these – possibly creating a Roth-like “non-qualified” plan without limits on annual deposits or on your income?

If you follow the strategies in Stop Sitting on Your Assets, you’ll realize that you likely want to protect more than a few thousand. So do you want to hear more about a properly structured “non-qualified” plan?

This plan will remove all caps on how much money you can protect, it will ignore income ceilings and best of all, it will utilize the latest financial vehicles, 21st Century laws and wealth-building strategies to allow tax favored growth, not to mention easy access to your money and tax favored transfer to your heirs.

Wow! Tax-favored growth … tax-favored access … and tax-favored transfer to your heirs?

Sounds like a fantasy!

So how do you build this kind of “non-qualified” plan, one that will protect your money from the IRS and also enable you to grow your money in a protected environment?

Here are just a few of the tax-advantaged H.E.R.O. Solution™ ways someone can create a “non-qualified” plan for better wealth building:

• They tap their home’s equity for a tax-free initial S.A.F.E.T.Y. Fund™ deposit.
• S.A.F.E.T.Y. Fund™ assets are placed in tax-advantaged investment-grade vehicles.
• They simply swap mutual fund fees they would have paid for the minimal cost of these products.
• Their assets grow tax-favored, indexed to stock market returns … but not in the market.
• Their assets are shielded and protected from principal loss and from downside risk by being in a non-variable instrument.
• Funds are easily accessible via income tax-free loans or withdrawal of cash deposited.
• Accumulated assets then transfer to their heirs, income tax free upon death.
For more information on how to implement the tax-advantaged H.E.R.O. Solution™ read Chapter 14 of Stop Sitting on Your Assets.

Check out the no-cost preview audio and digital book instantly!

or send up to five (5) copies of the free GIFT preview to friends and family to "share the wealth"! Here’s what New York Times bestselling author, television and film writer, Ridley Pearson has to say about Stop Sitting on Your Assets.

“There’s plenty of great information in this well put together book. It’s both readable and educational. I’m going to stop sitting on my assets and start sitting on the ideas expressed in this book.”

— Ridley Pearson, co-author of Disney feature animation:
Peter and the Starcatchers

Are You Working For Free?

Why on earth — for what reason could you ever imagine — would someone in their right mind roll out of bed, shower, climb into the car, fight traffic and stagger into work for 25 days — 5 WEEKS — and do their job for FREE?

Surely you wouldn’t do that. Would you?

It makes it hard to believe that this is what most financial advisors are telling you to work toward. That’s what your parents and grandparents are telling you to strive for. That’s what traditional wisdom thinks is wise. Does it really sound like sensible advice to you?

Yet, if you follow old-fashioned, traditional wisdom, pay cash or strive to pay off your mortgage in whatever fashion you’ve devised, you are headed exactly toward this goal! With every payment you make to principal, you are working more and more FOR FREE, out of the goodness and sharing of your own heart.

Every payment takes you one step closer to working five or six weeks for free each year. Maybe you want to donate the labor, toil and stress involved in 5 weeks each year for the good of the country.

Here we are. We’re a nation with the lowest savings rate since Depression-era 1938. What are we doing? Taking our money, produced with our precious time, and just giving it away in taxes.

The smartest people, those with Real Wealth Vision™, aren’t making this mistake. They maximize all legal, rightfully earned and freely offered deductions offered in the tax code. If you use these tax laws properly, you can arrange to work for over a month for yourself and your family each year, because the money will come right back to you.

Grab your copy of Stop Sitting on Your Assets by letting me know how to send it to you. Just [email] or call me and let me know how I can get it to you.

Build your wealth with that cash. It’s there — waiting for you to take it.

Don’t just ignore it. Be smart and take off those “Glasses of the Masses.” See with Real Wealth Vision™ and see those bucks right in front of your eyes. Time’s a-wastin’.

Oh ... I almost forgot! While you’re thinking of it, send your loved ones a free preview copy.
They don’t want to work for free any more than you do.

Your Deal of the Century

The truth of the matter is that mortgage money is absolutely the cheapest borrowing you can get today. Even with all the media about the mortgage industry issues, it still can't be beat as the source of low cost cash.

Because the quasi-government agencies standardize the huge pools of mortgages on the market, mortgage-backed securities (MBS) become attractive investment vehicles for institutional money.

This means pension funds, insurance companies and banks make billions of dollars available for mortgages. In short, the money is there and readily available for you to borrow.

The money is available at the low cost and is also highly liquid.

Liquidity created by this massive source of money along with a competitive marketplace make this type of borrowing extremely cheap compared to any other kind of financing you could ever acquire. Even though mortgage borrowing has become a little more difficult these days, it is still the lowest cost borrowing you are going to find anywhere.

The home loan market created in our modern mortgage industry provides readily available money that is traded just like stocks and bonds.  This highly liquid environment is the reason for such low rates. With cheap money so easy to get, you the consumer are the winner.

Let’s take a look at just what a great deal this really is:

Let’s say you are in a combined federal and state tax bracket of 33% and your mortgage interest paid in one year is $10,000. That money spent on interest didn’t cost you $10,000.

When the smoke cleared, you really paid only $6,667 because the IRS sent you a refund for 33% of it. Our government encourages homeownership so the cost of mortgage borrowing can be deducted from your income at tax time.

No other personal borrowing you do will give such a marvelous benefit.

There are even mortgages out there where the entire payment can be deducted. These are called interest-only loans. Combine tax deductibility with low market rates and the availability of mortgage instruments where your entire payment can be deducted from your income … you end up with a sure bet in wealth creation.

What’s the number one reason mortgage financing leaves all other forms of financing in the dust?

It’s the great tax advantages offered by good old Uncle Sam.

Those with Real Wealth Vision™ use all tools available to create and enhance their life’s wealth. Stop Sitting on Your Assets doesn’t just outline these tools for you, it tells you step by step how to take advantage of them to build incredible wealth, the kind of wealth you’ve only imagined until now.

Stop imagining it and start living it.

To get your hands on a full version digital audio book of Stop Sitting on Your Assets, by going to my website or visiting Amazon.com.

If you’d like some great dinner conversation, stay tuned for next week’s lesson. Not only will you find out why the inventor of chess lost his head, but you’ll also get some great insights into building your wealth the way the wealthy do.

Before you forget and get caught up in the excitement of seeing your financial status improve by leaps and bounds, don’t forget to send your loved ones a no-cost GIFT preview copy. It costs you nothing and you’ll be giving them one of the most valuable resources
they’ll ever see.

Become Your Own Bank

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have the personal financial freedom to simply write a check and erase all home debt?

One of the most dramatic results you can accomplish with this revolutionary and safe plan is to achieve a coveted personal balance-sheet position allowing you the luxury and freedom to simply write a check on any given day to pay off your mortgage years ahead of schedule.

This system actually taps non-functioning cash, applies the magic of compound interest and creates a leverage situation identical to financial arbitrage, which is the lifeblood of the banking industry.

Turbocharge your wealth and do what banks do to create millions.

The tax deductibility you receive on your interest paid lowers your true cost of borrowing. Since liquid markets and competition make mortgage money the cheapest money available, the lower net rate you receive, after tax benefits, makes this debt extremely inexpensive.

The rate paid can be the same as the rate earned, and you will still create successful arbitrage resulting in real wealth for yourself. Actually, your rate paid can be more than the rate earned, and you will still come out way ahead.

But just imagine if you could create a situation where the rate you earn exceeds the rate you pay. The magic this produces will blow you away!

We’re talking serious wealth creation.

Let’s take a look at a quick example, let’s say there’s $90,000 of idle equity in your home. It could be from a large down payment or from increased equity over time. Your $300,000 house has a current 15-year mortgage with a balance of $150,000.

You decide to implement the H.E.R.O.. Solution™ to get $90,000 of your equity working.

We’ll say you pay 8% interest, but only earn 7% interest – a worst case scenario.

At the end of the 360 months, your S.A.F.E.T.Y. Fund™ (which you learn about in Stop Sitting on Your Assets) has a balance of $712,200. After you pay off your mortgage balance, you are left with almost a half-million dollars!

Yes, you made money paying a higher rate than you earned – and this was with a worst case scenario.

Earning and paying the same rate of say 7.5%, you end up with a S.A.F.E.T.Y. Fund™ balance of nearly a million dollars.

Now this is just a simple example of how the system works. For a step by step explanation of how you can implement this strategy to earn millions and become your own bank, get your copy of Stop Sitting on Your Assets now.

This #1 bestselling book has also been praised by other professionals in the industry. Here is what seasoned colleague and financial trainer had to say:

“The equity management strategies researched and presented in this book simply work. What more can I say? I’ve personally implemented them. My clients have successfully implemented them. Every intelligent homeowner should investigate how using them can boost the success of their comprehensive overall financial plan.”
— RANDALL A LUEBKE, RMA, RFC
THE ACADEMY OF MORTGAGE PLANNING

Want to know why mortgage money is the “deal of the century”? My next post will reveal the secrets.

Talk to you then…

Oh, I almost forgot ... if you have Spanish speaking friends, don’t forget about them. The no-cost GIFT preview digital version includes a “special button” that magically transforms the book into the Spanish translation. Wow, it’s amazing what technology can do!!

Remember your pals, your loved ones, your fellow club members, your garden club, your kid’s teachers and even Uncle Fred in Peoria. Send them all a no-cost GIFT preview digital version. I’m sure they’d all love to know how to become their own bank, too!

Tony Snow - Only the Good Die Young

When I heard the news today that Tony Snow had lost his battle with cancer, I felt extreme emptiness.  What a loss!  I felt so much connection with Tony.  Not only did we share our last name, but Tony shared his birthday, both day and year, with my sister Sherri.  Sadly, Tony's life was taken by the same cancer as my own father, just a few years ago.  So much about his death makes this loss so, so very emotional to me.

Tony was my very favorite news or media personality, not only because of his name and birthdate, but because he maintained such a firm, sensible and consistent presence without ever appearing combative.  He was always kind when he didn't have to be.  He was always smiling and pleasant in front of the camera and was a breath of fresh air in Washington... at least for me.

In much the same fashion as Tim Russert, another recent tremendous loss to America, Tony was "one of us"  ... a boomer, our friend, our welcomed and level-headed inside connection.  This event really should make us face our own mortality ... think of what we are doing to leave our own mark on the world.

I always listened to Tony when he had his syndicated radio show and he so often spoke so fondly of his kids, his dogs and how much he enjoyed his guitar-playing with friends in his basement... 

You liked him.  You looked forward to what he had to say.  

As I look at this page through the mist of tears in my eyes, I feel tremendous sadness for his kids ... for Jill, his wife ... they are facing so much loss.  I remember the dramatic emotion I felt with the loss of my own father and he was 67 ... I was an adult.  Tony's life ended so early ... his 53rd birthday was just last month.

My prayers go out to Tony's family.  I feel I've lost a family member. He has left shoes that can never be filled ...