Memory Lane

Red & Black … And Sean Connery?

Promotional image for "Goldfinger," Eon Productions, 1964. Image in the public domain.

Black loves to play the "Can you connect the dots" game, especially when it comes to Red & Black and our many unexpected detours. Well, I got to create my own version of the game a few weeks ago when Black sent me the link to a wonderful remembrance of Sean Connery by Donald Liebenson for Vanity Fair. Which brought back memories … of Red & Black?!


Donald, besides being a wonderful writer who has covered many famous people, has also written about people who are far from being famous. Or maybe he thinks of them as "yet to be discovered." (Hollywood, we're still waiting!) But the article he wrote about us for Millionaire Corner was almost 10 years ago, yet is still one of our favorites.

At the time, we were between our first and second years of teaching at KIPP Houston High School and we were thrilled (and shocked) when he contacted us asking for an interview. There was no way of knowing that his article, "Sisters 'Red' and 'Black' Put an Unconventional Spin on Financial Literacy," would not only be entertaining, but incredibly useful, as over the years we've included it as a handout at countless educational presentations and in press kits. Plus, we've used his phrase, "a funny thing happened on the way to Hollywood," as the title and theme of many speaking engagements and even on PowerPoint slides. (Thank you, Donald. I hope we don't owe you royalties.)

Donald's masterly use of our quotes captured our personalities and somehow made our journey sound like we almost knew what we were doing. And that we had a plan all along. Well, we're still on that journey and maybe one day he'll write a follow-up article ... when we finally do get to Hollywood.

Photo by Red

It was one of those mindless questions, “What was your favorite childhood book?” And although I couldn’t answer the question, it brought back wonderful memories of my favorite book while I was still living at home. Which recently turned into a new tradition … and maybe the highlight of my summer …

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Red's Head assets.rebelmouse.io


I'm still smiling at you letting Sawyer drive your Mercedes G-wagen. Although I know that her dream car's a Ford F-150, I think yours is her "fantasy car".


Black's HeadBlack assets.rebelmouse.io


I knew the "long way" to drive back to your house, but after asking her if she knew the best way, it seemed easier to have her drive.


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Well, you might have thought of it as efficient, but she thought it was exciting. And she told me that she was honored you trusted her to drive.


Black's HeadBlack assets.rebelmouse.io


Did she mention that once we got back to your neighborhood, we saw a huge turtle on the road? Moving very slowly, of course, so I was not concerned it would become an unexpected road obstacle.
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This past weekend, although not on my "To Do" list (although maybe I should start including it), I decided to take a little time to catch up on reading. So, I grabbed the pile of newspaper articles that I've been saving to read when I have extra time (which doesn't happen often). The good news (pun intended) is that many of these articles are so old by the time I get to them, that they go straight into the recycle bin. Such as the one when Trump was still President and covered not only the pardons he had announced but also the ones that were still expected.

Anyway, I wasn't sure the subject still interested me, as obviously it was no longer relevant, but decided to give it a quick glance, which is when I saw that it mentioned how Trump had promised to "drain the swamp" when he was running for President in 2016. Before you stop reading – this post has nothing to do with politics. It's about how that phrase brought back one of my fondest memories of my Dad and a piece of paper now yellowed with age …

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