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;void(0)) With the recent rise in fuel costs our attention turns to money and finances. How do we hold on to it? How do we get it to work for us? What exactly is money? We do work for it. We also learn from a young age that it is not often that we walk out of our front door that we do not have to have some of it in our pockets in order to pay for something. Recent research reveals that, in spite of the old myth of America being the “Land of Opportunity”, the chances of a person going from “rags to riches” has become more remote here than anywhere else in the world. Still, hope seems to spring eternal. In spite of a gradual decline in real wages for the average worker (except for those wage earners in the top 20% of the work force) of about 2.3% per year since 1980, the Conference Board Consumer Research Center indicates that consumer confidence is at the highest it has been in 4 years. There remains a strong BELIEF in the power of the dollar bill – no matter how sparse its availability after expenses. In many ancient societies the ritualistic killing and eating of a divine bull played an extremely important role in the religious sacrificial system; and it was from this ceremony that coinage later evolved. In these early communion ceremonies, the god received part of the flesh of the sacrificial animal and the rest went to the participants in the ritual. Each person received a portion consonant with his status in the social ranking system. To be excluded from the feast meant that one was a social outcast. Gradually, coins replaced meat as a status symbol. These coins were given by the king to his subjects as a sign of esteem and status. The coins symbolized the contribution of each individual to the state. The greatest honor was to receive a gold medal, followed by silver, then bronze (has an Olympian ring to it). The psychological significance of money as a means of social rank has not changed in our unconscious minds. However, the more rational faculties are better able to see it for its exchange value. In next month’s newsletter we will explore some of the emotional aspects of money in our lives. Oh yeah, don't forget your autographed copy of “The Ackee Chronicles”. Tony VanSluytman - the Author Now let’s explore the solution to last month’s Ackee Quandaries. More of you had the answer than I had anticipated. Thank you for the overwhelming response.  QUESTION: Who murdered Peter Calloway, and how? ANSWER:If the poison was not administered by food, drink, or inhalation it must have been administered by touch, through the victim’s skin pores. The only thing that Calloway touched shortly before his demise that he hadn’t touched earlier, and that no one else had touched was the inside of the napkin served with his hor d’oeuvres. (Notice that Ms. Wayne was still holding a napkin.) Therefore this had been doctored with poison. The critical event was Calloway being bumped and spilling his champagne. Since he was not carrying a handkerchief he must have opened his napkin to wipe up the spill. Investigators found that Jackson was not in on the crime. Further investigation brought out the fact that Mr. Calloway, a gourmet cook in his own right had been in the process of writing his own cookbook.. Ms. Wayne’s publisher was thinking about setting up a major marketing campaign for his book while giving Ms. Wayne’s most recent book (like her last two) little to no attention. Ms. Wayne was convicted of murdering Mr. Calloway after feeling threatened by his book’s success. Newsletter Directory The Aton Project - Home Page Tony VanSluytman info Tony VanSluytman - the Author | Return Home | The BOOK DOCTOR | The BANYON NETWORK | The Banyon Buzz Newsletters | The Aton Project Newsletters | Contact Us | |
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