I ran into a Friday the 13th-esque moment of bad luck on Friday the 13th.

Weekly financial Q&A, with items on The Legacy Drawer and land purchases.

I have always been the guest at Thanksgiving, never the host, which was good news for me and also the people who didn’t have to attend Thanksgiving dinner at my home and ingest turkey that was so dried out you could put it in a pipe and smoke it, or so undercooked it could still gobble. The truth is, I’m not a great cook.

As any experienced parent will tell you, the longer you can keep your kids watching PBS, the better. Once you move on to commercial television, it’s all over.

I believe all elected officials should take office on Christmas morning so we can greet them with a child’s wide smile and not the guilty, greenish grimace of the just-into-the new-year adult. Besides, if the new officials take office on Christmas morning, everyone can go to church right after, which is a darn good idea. I have advice for the newly elected officials, those chosen by an ever-diminishing pool of voters to fill the vacuum, I mean to serve the people.

If I were going to give any advice to a politician, it would be not to touch anyone. Don’t even touch your spouse; there’s a chance it might be interpreted as code for an act of terrorism. Just ask President Obama or Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. Both have taken a beating recently for showing what some might consider good manners but others consider blasphemous.

In Great Britain, Remembrance Sunday falls on the second Sunday of November, the one closest to November 11th, the anniversary of the end of the First World War in 1918. Once, the world called November 11th Armistice Day. Now, here in the states at least, it is Veterans Day. As coincidence and travel itineraries would have it, twice over the last four years I’ve been in London on Remembrance Sunday.

This guy knows from experience that the customer is not always right. A.J. Adams’ book contains the 100 best anecdotes from the author’s Web site, and also 100 new stories. Much of it will seem strange to customers not actually portrayed in the volume. But retail employees might find the world the book describes rather recognizable.

One of the most cherished moments of a wedding day is when the bride and groom’s closest friends share a special story about the couple in front of all the guests. The story is often so special and so touching that the happy couple will look at each other during the speech with a twinkle in their eyes that says, “Why on earth did we give your friend a microphone?”

I didn’t know that those on the Mayflower were really aiming for a spot at the mouth of the Hudson River before strong winds blew them 200 miles north, landing them in this region of the thin rocky soil – and just 10 days before the winter solstice, at that, with the wind off the water so damp and cold their clothes froze on their backs. It makes me wonder how much else of what we all learn is myth, and how much is real.

Imagine leaving your home and all of your “stuff” to go start over in a new and unchartered land. It’s like the reality show “Survivor,” but you don’t get to return to the creature comforts of your home after 30 days.

As 40-something father of a 9-year-old, I’ve come to realize there are certain things he can do that I should no longer attempt. The latest addition to the list unfolded after my son’s first basketball practice of the season when, surrounded by a few members of the team, I attempted an impressive display of Michael Jordan-like spin moves while dunking a basketball on an 8 1⁄2-foot goal.

Maybe there are those who do not view cold, hard cash as a heart-warming holiday gift, but don’t count me in that group. I’m sure there are others who would love to receive a check in the mail this holiday season. Among that crowd is at least one uncle - Uncle Sam. With the national debt at $7.6 trillion and growing every single day, the U.S. Treasury Department has made it known it is not the least bit shy about accepting cash gifts.

If there were a more effective way of weeding out ne’er-do-wells on the Internet, I’d strongly recommend using it. Such a mechanism would be helpful in identifying those who have good intentions and those who want to rip you off.

We know and understand that secrecy is the lifeblood of the teen experience. As a result, abuse among young couples barely elicits a blip of concern until something extreme happens. According to the National Domestic Abuse Hotline, 33 percent of teens of both genders have experienced some form of abuse in a relationship, from name-calling to stalking. Twelve percent say they have endured physical abuse, including rape.

This Thanksgiving, our budget is tighter than in years’ past, posing a big challenge to this entertaining junkie. I can’t bear the thought of running out of food. I struggle to say “no” to special décor and like to pull together recipes with way more ingredients than servings. This year, I’ll implement a few strategies to ensure that I stay within the entertaining budget and get to enjoy myself a bit, too.

Every day I get “Google alerts” about happiness. How to get happy, what makes you happy or how to stay happy.

I don't write about sports very often, which is too bad, since we as a nation are running pretty low on providers of completely superfluous sports commentary (maybe we can get some of you guys on a cable TV show or something), but nevertheless I am here to report the SPORTS SHOCKER OF THE WEEK, one which will melt your face, light your mustache on fire and make it seem like you're being punched in the tongue by Terry Bradshaw. Before you read further, you may wish to sit on something concrete and put on a welding mask.

In Washington, they are fighting the last war again, or rather the war before the war before that. From the White House to the Pentagon to Capitol Hill, Afghanistan is being seen through the lens of Vietnam.

You've seen the decorations in the stores. That tells me that the year end is approaching, and there may be some last-minute financial moves worth considering.