Alex Opalstone and the Window of Heaven's View: Life 101 Part 2

by T. M. Meek

In most situations Alex was generally comfortable speaking to others about money be they adults or kids her age. But today was different. She was actually surprised to find just how nervous she actually was inside over the idea of speaking to a group of adults. She went over some last things in her mind like a checklist to assure herself of tasks already done. After all, she told herself, if she was prepared then what was to fear?

  So her checklist began. Was all of the projection equipment here? Check. Was the digital presentation file here? Check. Is it working? Check. Did she bring the custom laser pointer Uncle Samuel had made for her? Check. Were there plenty of adults seated and willing to listen? Check. Had she practiced her presentation at least four times? Yes. Check. She did so in front of Leena and Julio's parents, plus twice for Aunt Meredith and Uncle Samuel with Linda Wise present at the second to last rehearsal.

  But all the checking still didn't drive Alex's nervousness away. It was too late to change her mind and leave. She gave herself no other options but to do what she agreed to do: Teach a bunch of adults who were probably at least three times her own age some of the facts of life about financial retirement planning. All she could do now is hope that the Success Crew didn't get laughed out of the room. She was about to find out.

  Julio had already set up a video camera to record the presentation. As Julio tied down the last loose cable, Leena made sure the audio equipment was working. "Testing... Testing," she spoke into the mic. She sounded loud and clear. She then hooked it up to Alex's clothing and gave her a quick thumbs up that Alex was ready to go.

  “I want to see your multicolor laser pointer work,” Julio said enthusiastically to Alex. “When did your uncle give this to you?”

  “Last night,” Alex said as she turned it on to test it out and let Julio be dazzled by it. The pen had several custom settings to combine up to three colors to show at once. She currently had it set to only two colors at once: pink and purple. The colors could show up as a simple ring of alternating laser dots of colors or as a splay of colors or as a special setting Uncle Samuel made just for Alex where the dots would show up as capital letters of “AO” for Alex Opalstone. At first she had it set to just a ring of all baby blue dots but she later decided that a splay of pink and purple dots looked cooler. Both Julio and Leena were mesmerized. Alex then turned back off her custom laser pointer and she suddenly felt her mouth was dry. “I need to go get a drink,” she said. She then went over to her water bottle to quench her thirst.

  “Are you sure you don’t have the wrong presentation set to play?” Leena whispered to Julio as Alex walked away to take a sip of water before speaking.

  “What do you mean?” Julio scoffed.

  “You didn’t bring the version you used to play a joke on your parents before Alex came by to rehearse did you? The goofy version you made with Peter? The one with the silly pictures in it?” Leena asked sincerely worried.

  Julio rolled his eyes. “Trust me. I wouldn’t screw something this important up like that.”

  “Hope not,” Leena said with a ‘we’ll know soon’ look of warning to Julio in case he was wrong.

  The first slide, the title slide of their presentation, was already being projected onto a large screen in the conference room of what was their first client. A large pharmaceutical company was the first one to be scheduled by the Success Crew and Alex marveled at how it was all really happening. They really did make all of those phone calls. They really did get presentation appointments where each company would pay them $350 per hour of their presentation. They really did get each client to agree to pay an additional $350 if any of their employees came up to Alex after the presentation to ask her any further questions that may delay her and the Success Crew beyond fifteen minutes of their time since they had only planned on a maximum of one hour for discussing retirement planning (with the hour intended to be solely for the presentation.) The team needed to be able to leave on time to be punctual for other appointments that may be scheduled that same day. Any delay beyond the hour presentation would cost them and they would only allow a maximum delay of thirty minutes. But Alex was business savvy enough to ensure that even though they might be delayed by only thirty minutes, they would still have enough time to be on time for the next presentation.

  This was the first of thirty-two clients they had secured for business. If Alex wasn't thoroughly convinced by now that she was not dreaming, then the nearly one hundred employees who were already seated before her in stadium style seats, listening and waiting would wake her up to the fact that it was time for her to deliver to these companies what she had promised: A way for the average employee to learn what he or she needed to do to ensure a secure retirement for themselves.

  A rather tall gentleman began to speak over a microphone.

  “Welcome everyone. Thank you all for attending. I’d like to also thank the Success Crew in advance for giving our company the opportunity to receive their very unique services. Clearly the most unique part of the Success Crews services is their young ages.” Nearly the entire audience chuckled. Leena and Julio looked over at Amelia and Meredith to see if the joke about their age was meant to mock. Amelia (Mrs. Lilly) was quick to give Leena and Julio a reassuring look to ignore their humor while Meredith's eyes were completely fixated on Alex in an effort to give her any encouraging looks if Alex was in need. Alex couldn't even look at Aunt Meredith.

  “We’d like the technical team to please stand so we can recognize you for your contribution to the presentation.” The emcee politely motioned toward Julio and Leena to stand. “They’re important players as part of the Success Crew from North Ivy.” As the crowd applauded, Leena graciously bowed while Julio gave a simple wave of his hand before realizing he should probably bow also. As the clapping abated, the two sat back down and returned their focus to their technical duties to run the presentation. The announcer then moved to his final introduction of the presenter herself.

  "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome, Alex Opalstone." The audience clapped their hands for several seconds as Alex walked up to the front. Now that the brief corporate welcome and introductions were over, it was time for Alex to begin her presentation.

  The slide that displayed at the start of their presentation had their website address on it. It was centered in large letters followed by a disclaimer that read just a few lines below it:

  The information in this presentation is provided with the understanding that the author, company, and/or publisher are not offering these materials as accounting, legal, investing, and/or tax advice as they may relate to this presentation. The information provided is intended for educational purposes only. Questions regarding the specific accounting, legal, investing, and/or tax needs of individuals who participate in any way in this presentation should be addressed to their professional advisor. Please consult with your professional advisor.

  Feeling a pang of nervousness, her face was a blush red as she said "Hello" into the mic and addressed her audience but she acted as if she had done this a hundred times already for fun. 'No big deal' was the impression she gave while remarkably still keeping a professional edge. She chose to ignore her sweaty palms as she held her specially made laser pointer and began to speak.

  "How many of you here, by a show of hands, know someone who is older than you or younger who is already retired and spends most of his or her time in retirement playing golf?" Alex asked. About a third of the audience raised their hands. "Now how many of you think that spending most of your time during retirement making the world a better place by philanthropic endeavors is a better way to spend your retirement?" Nearly all of the hands were raised in response. She then asked, "Now how many of you would like to get yourselves in a position of wealth at retirement so that you can not only afford to golf, but also afford to start a charity or at least support one?" Again, nearly every hand was raised. "And how many of you actually see yourselves currently on track for a wealthy retirement where you can be a philanthropist?" Less than a dozen hand
s went up. "This is the problem we're here to address today.

  "Now, I'm not saying that by the time I get done showing you my presentation that most of you will achieve a wealthy retirement. I'm not saying that. But what I do want you to know is that for those of you who are serious about being ready for retirement with the intent to help others because you really can afford it then I believe I can show you how. Will all of you be in a position financially or with your own personal time horizons to carry out everything I show you here perfectly? Most likely not.

  "However, if you do follow what I show you here today, then at the very least, you can save yourselves in your own philanthropic way from becoming homeless and dependent upon government money in your retirement years and in a small but no less significant way, make our country stronger and thereby make the world a better place in that way. Now, how many of you, at the very least, would like to keep yourselves from becoming homeless during what should be your 'golden years' by planning and investing now for your future?" Most of the hands go back up. "Seeing all of your hands raised now doesn't surprise me. But I will say that it's good news and it gives me hope and it should give you hope too. I only mention the sad prospects of homelessness because of some startling facts few people know about retirement planning. But you don't have to become homeless if you'll just do a few simple things to improve your overall financial strategy. Once you learn these things you really should teach them to your children as well so they have even fewer chances of becoming homeless later as adults."

  "Most have you have probably heard of the idea that in order to achieve a worthy goal, you have to aim high. You need to set your sights high because chances are, on your first try, you're not going to hit your mark.. Now with retirement, you only get one chance to hit your mark. That's it. Once you reach the age of 65, you're either ready or you're not. There's no second chances. Can you delay your retirement by a year? Of course. But for most people, they'll need much more than an extra year or two to be ready if they don't get it right the first time. So here is your chance to learn how to get it right the first time. So the first thing to do is set your goal up high. Here’s an example.”

  Leena then advanced to the next slide. It was a slide picture of Julio and his dad smiling as they each straddled their own bicycle. They appeared ready to happily go on a ride together. Each smiled and held tight to the handle bars of their own bike.

  This was not what Alex or anyone else expected.

  As the audience chuckled, Leena angrily nudged Julio for messing up when he assured her things were fine. Alex was mortified. Julio quickly took over as he began to nervously click past each slide––which only made things worse. The second image was of Julio beginning to fall off of his bike while his dad was still smiling and oblivious to Julio’s clumsiness next to him. The third slide showed his father still smiling and unaware as Julio was even further progressed in his fall until by the fourth slide Julio was no longer in the picture and his dad was finally reacting by awkwardly trying to quickly stop Julio from hitting the ground ––but he’s just a moment too late.

  The audience was roaring in laughter and Alex was ready to call it quits and go home.

  The humiliation she felt was tremendous as she looked over at Julio and gave him a scornful look. Since Julio had finally clicked past his slides and back to the more serious and intended slides of the presentation, he slumped down into his chair as if to hide from Alex behind a sheepish grin. Neither Alex nor Leena were amused as Leena took back control of the slides.

  Amelia bit her lower lip in sympathetic embarrassment for the team as she too found the slides of Julio falling down on his bike to be pretty funny and Meredith simply covered her mouth briefly and then tried to give Alex a reassuring look to keep going anyway. Alex swallowed hard and chose to get back to their presentation.

  “As you can see we had some… technical difficulties,” she said as she shot another harsh look at Julio. The audience laughed more. “But let’s get back to goal setting.” Since they were on the right slide all Alex could do was hope that no other problems occurred and that the audience would still somehow take them seriously. Then the audience laughter died down.

  "Please allow me to suggest the following goal for everyone here,” Alex said. She then used her laser pointer to point to the screen. A splay of pink and purple laser dots landed on the upper left corner of the screen as she read what the slide showed in all capitals:

  “SEEK TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE. SEE YOURSELF AS A PHILANTHROPIST. BUILD ENOUGH WEALTH WITH INTEGRITY SO YOU CAN BE THERE MORE OFTEN FOR YOUR SPOUSE AND CHILDREN FOR YOUR FAMILY, AND ALSO BUILD WEALTH TO GIVE BACK BY GIVING ANONYMOUSLY TO CHARITY.” Alex then expounded on the slide she just read.

  “Begin by giving back to people and causes that strengthen our great nation of the United States. Teach others what you have learned to achieve success financially so you could give back and teach others to do the same. The more people we empower right here in America to achieve honorable financial success, the more people can do good right here to help others to do the same by becoming financially self-reliant as well as helping others abroad.

  "So what's the best and fastest way to achieve this? Here's the answer and it's vital,” she said just before she again pointed at the screen with her multicolored laser and she read the next slide that read also in all capital letters, “PUT GOD FIRST. EVERY TIME YOU GET A PAYCHECK, TAKE THE FIRST TEN PERCENT OFF THE TOP AND DONATE TO YOUR FAVORITE CHURCH OR CHARITY OF CHOICE. HAVE FAITH IN GOD THAT HE WILL HELP YOU TO ACHIEVE RETIREMENT SUCCESS IF YOU ARE WILLING TO ACHIEVE IT IN THE RIGHT WAY AND TO RECOGNIZE, DEVELOP AND USE YOUR OWN GOD-GIVEN TALENTS TO BLESS YOUR FAMILY AND OTHERS AND THEN GIVE HIM THE CREDIT AND GLORY FOR YOUR SUCCESS.

  “That's it. Any other route will be slower and less fulfilling for you." Everyone in the audience looked at Alex in quiet awe over such a bold statement. "How many of you here think that this strategy of having faith in God to achieve enough retirement wealth to help and bless your family and the world and to achieve it by your talents, by doing what you already enjoy doing and are good at how many of you think this makes sense?" Nearly every hand was raised. "I'm glad we agree. For those of you who already see this opportunity as a potential blessing for you and your family towards that end, let's get to it. If you've got a pen and paper or laptop take lots of notes because I have less than an hour to cover a lot of information. If you have any questions, please hold them until the end and ask me after. I truly hope that what you learn today will also increase in you a desire to make sure your kids learn all they need to know about money. Much of this information and more can also be found on our website."

  As Leena advanced the next slide for Alex, Julio sat back casually next to her in his chair near all of the equipment and looked on watching Alex do her thing. He could see that she was really doing well so far. Neither he nor Leena had ever noticed any signs Alex was ever nervous. Alex continued their presentation with increasing confidence.

  Using her custom made multicolored laser pointer, she pointed at the slide projected. "So once you've set your goal, the next thing is to believe that you can do it. You have to believe it or you won't achieve it. So believe and you'll achieve." Leena continued advancing the appropriate slides at the right times as Alex continued.

  "But you can't go into this with too much of a Pollyanna perspective or you won't know how seriously the challenges are against you in your efforts to adequately secure your retirement. Here is the problem that has resulted so far with too many people having a Pollyanna view of their financial future for retirement:

  “For over twenty years now approximately 95% of Americans have been retiring in poverty. So why is it that so many have less than $15,000 in income when they retire? There are several reasons. One of the first and most important reasons is that the average American doesn't learn early enough in life (such as during middle school years) just how much money is really needed to simply survive on frugally
in life so as to plan to save wisely for the retirement years. So if you don't have a clear and accurate goal in mind, you're not going to be able to properly aim for the right type of success you need."

  "Approximately 50% of people have less than $20,000 in their 401(k) for retirement. Those meager $20,000 savings efforts are often achieved by those who are median average to lower than average income earners. This means that for those who earn above the median average as income earners, they are in the other 50% group which usually has closer to $60,000 saved for retirement in their 401(k). When you consider the fact that most people need a bare minimum of $2 million dollars to secure a frugal retirement future to make up for rising inflation plus future taxation as well as rising healthcare costs and that retirement money needs to last longer than for previous generations–– since people are living longer–– the gap to fill between a meager $20,000 and a massive $2 million could be the Grand Canyon of financial dilemmas for the average American who is actually saving money for retirement (as about 25% or more of eligible workers don't even contribute to their 401(k) which is a recipe for ruin).

  "Ultimately, unless you change the way you invest your assets while simultaneously dramatically increase the percentage amount of your income that you save for retirement, your retirement may become a financial nightmare of close calls with (if not guaranteed) poverty and homelessness throughout your last two or three decades of life."

  Several people in the audience gasped and began to squirm in their seats over the shock of the facts. But Alex knew this was exactly what people need to hear, so she continued.

  "But unfortunately, most employers are not doing enough to help their employees navigate the waves of retirement planning. They seem to be dancing to the same tune as the government: 'It's not my fault you didn't know.' That catchy song-and-dance is going to cause our country and it's citizens to catch a nasty virus of poverty that will spread faster than the black plague and ruin even more lives unless everyone learns what they have a right to learn and do whatever is in their power as individuals to do to save themselves from what is certain financial doom for all who either turn a blind eye or give up when there's more that can be done.

  “Some of you may not be able to solve all of your retirement challenges within the next ten years but anything you can do is better than nothing. If you can ensure at least one additional year of adequate savings, isn't that worth it? Or is cutting back one less year of potential poverty out of your future by learning now what you can do now not worth your future security or the future security of your loved ones? Or maybe some of you think that you can handle being homeless easier when you're old and grey as opposed to preventing that near certain likelihood for yourself by doing what you must do , not should do, now.” She paused briefly before continuing.

  “Although you will be hearing some pretty hard facts about money and the challenges most face when planning and implementing a successful retirement strategy, just remember one thing: you can do it. It may be hard, but you can do it. If there's any country in this world that has the greatest opportunity for financial success it's right here in the good old U.S. of A. And you are about to learn just how to do it."

  Alex went onto explain the problems with so many 401 (k)s, mutual funds, annuities, 403 (b)s and other retirement plans and the problems of not watching the expense ratios, commissions, portfolios and other potential problems. She discussed the positive sides of any that existed and hoped the audience understood and was keeping up.

  “Maybe this next illustration will help." Leena then advanced to what was probably hers and Julio's favorite slide. The two smiled at one another as the slide showed a digitally generated picture of a haunted house at night. The dark and creepy image includes a computer generated night sky with a full moon, bats and a variety of additional eerie things that seem to lurk near in the dark.

  "Have you ever seen those horror movies that have a haunted house and someone goes inside only to get a really strong vibe like a whisper that says "Get out!"? Well, that's the same strong vibe you could be getting anytime you find you have been sold an actively managed fund.

  “Now imagine a much less scary house, like a nice warm home you might see, say, at Christmas time. There are lovely lights on the exterior and a beautifully decorated tree on display in a window. As you approach this friendly home, think of it as a low-cost Index fund. There's a nice welcome mat at the front door entrance because low-cost Index funds welcome equal market returns which means more money for you, the investor, generally speaking, than actively managed funds.

  “So if you're in a hot mutual fund with your 401(k) or IRA or other retirement investment, if you're seeing negative returns then you're like most others who are in actively managed funds. Therefore you should not be surprised to, metaphorically speaking, feel that warning whisper to "Get out!" as you have found yourself in the haunted house of mutual funds. You're being haunted by the ghost of Once Upon A Time investment returns that for maybe only a year or two provided better than a target market benchmark in returns and had lots of people bragging. But now since that same fund has been sagging under the weight of average annual negative returns, it's not a coincidence for you to get scary chills and have a strong desire to ‘get out.’

  “So you may want to find out if having your money peacefully at home in a passively managed index fund that has a happy low expense ratio of only about a quarter of a percent (or less if possible) is right for you. Otherwise you’ll probably be suckered into an expensive and ghostly investment. But, there is still a chance that none of these savings retirement plans mentioned so far are right for you. You’ve got to do your own homework even despite low expense ratios and passively managed funds.

  She discussed the benefits of hiring a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor and encouraged the audience to consider the pros and cons of hiring them. She discussed the strengths of using asset allocation to determine how to invest in a way the investor may be comfortable with. There were a few slides she used to show the pros and cons of diversification, the problems of misleading information that create investment myths of expensive, actively managed funds (also called hyperactively managed) and some other slides were used to review almost every kind of annuity. The advantages and disadvantages of investing in ETFs as a means of significantly increasing the chances for getting superior returns more consistently was something she went over in some detail as well as discussing further ETF's or low cost, passively managed index funds.

  After going over other investment topics such as calculated risks, risk tolerance tests, certified financial planners, defined benefit plans vs. defined contribution plans, stocks, bonds, commodities and IRAs, she brought up a subject most people hate: taxes.

  “Keep in mind that ordinary income tax rates for the future are very difficult to accurately predict. Here is some contrasting information for Pre-retirement tax rate versus postretirement tax rate and things that can impact your tax rate: Tax breaks will be different, maybe fewer. You probably won't have any dependents to claim for tax breaks during retirement (no, your dog named 'Bingo' doesn't count). If you don't have a mortgage during your retirement years, you won't have that as a tax break. You get the idea. If you become single during retirement, such as if you survive the death of your spouse, this means your tax status changes to require you to file as a single person which is likely to put you in a higher tax bracket. If you decide to pursue your life's dream during retirement to teach golf lessons as a means of supporting your golf habits, that income will change how you are taxed. Or any employment that causes enough of a significant increase in your total earnings could also put you in a higher tax bracket.

  "There are lots of variables that can affect your retirement without also having to deal with the headaches of insufficient planning and insufficient saving that so often occur with most people who then find they are retiring in poverty. Spending your golden years in what could be termed the Haunted House of Retirement Myt
hs by retiring broke is not exactly the American retirement dream.

  "Overall, you may discover that many fee only Registered Investment Advisors may tell you that a good 401(k) plan (or 403(b) or 457(b) plan) will offer options that allow at least three ETFs, or low cost index funds or passively managed funds. But it all depends. Those same advisors may also confirm that annuities are extremely expensive. If you have very poor health and are looking for a death benefit to pass onto a loved one –– especially if you don't qualify for additional life insurance –– then an annuity may actually be a good choice for you but it all depends. Otherwise, you may learn that advisors may discourage you from investing in annuities as a means of saving for retirement as they are usually too costly.

  “Now, some of you may be wondering, Well, should we put our money in the stock market or not? Although there are some wealthy people that still have money in the market, they realize they are taking a risk by doing so. It’s a calculated risk. Ultimately, the only amount of money you should have in stocks or bonds is only the amount you can afford to lose. I’m going to repeat that because it’s important. So if you missed it the first time, here it is again: The only amount of money you should have in stocks or bonds is only the amount you can afford to lose.

  “I can see that for many of you this really was shocking information. I understand that. But wouldn’t you rather have the truth than be caught off guard, waking up one day in your car as one of the thousands of working homeless here in the U.S.?

  "Now, in closing, I'd like to mention something about how teen pregnancy and the problems of retirement saving as a parent have some important ties. If this information doesn't convince you to sit down with your young children and talk with them about some of the facts of life about money, then consider this: If your teenager gets pregnant and decides to keep and raise the baby, the chances of them pushing you and/ or themselves (and their baby) into homelessness significantly increases since if you as a responsible adult don't have enough saved for retirement then you probably don't even have enough saved for emergencies either and this means that even if your teenager never gets pregnant before getting married then you still have a significant chance for becoming homeless yourself as you try to handle your retirement years financially (if you don't do more to adequately prepare for retirement now). Your teenager needs to understand ASAP just how hard it is for you financially now as a responsible, hardworking adult so that he or she doesn't get the dangerous impression that you will financially support him or her in full –– especially if your daughter becomes a single parent (since this often happens to daughters more than sons).

  "And if your teenager still doesn't 'get it' then explain to him or her that the majority of American's are living paycheck to paycheck which means that they are literally one missed paycheck away from becoming homeless since so few American's have enough in savings to help them get by until the next job comes along. So all in all, getting pregnant as a teenager is an almost guaranteed way to become potentially permanently homeless long before retirement. Certainly your teen (who has to care for her particularly vulnerable child once she becomes a single parent) won't see living under a bridge or in a car or in a homeless shelter where other men or women try to steal your stuff from you while you sleep (so they can sell it for money as so few shelters provide you a locker) as a glamorous or successful way to live. And of course there are much worse crimes you become an easy target for when you are homeless.

  "Don't let that happen to your kids. Talk to them now about what everything really costs and how hard it is to be financially successful, how hard it is to thrive unless you learn what you need to learn about money ASAP. And make sure you teach them with love. Use gentle tones and be optimistic by reassuring them that they can learn it and that you believe that he or she will get it right for lasting happiness and prosperity in life. They need to learn this but the message needs to be given with love so they see you as a loving, trusting, wise and helpful ally not as an enemy.

  "Remember learning what you need to learn and also teaching your children is a must do not a should do. You can learn it. You can do what you need to greatly improve your own financial future and your kids can learn it and do it right too.

  "Going back to what I said at the start, consider making the following goal your own: SEEK TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE. SEE YOURSELF AS A PHILANTHROPIST. BUILD ENOUGH WEALTH WITH INTEGRITY SO YOU CAN BE THERE MORE OFTEN FOR YOUR SPOUSE AND CHILDREN ENJOY BEING WITH YOUR FAMILY, AND ALSO BUILD WEALTH TO GIVE BACK BY GIVING ANONYMOUSLY TO CHARITY.

  “Start by strengthening our own nation first. What's the best and fastest way to achieve this? PUT GOD FIRST. EVERY TIME YOU GET A PAYCHECK, TAKE THE FIRST TEN PERCENT OFF THE TOP AND DONATE TO YOUR FAVORITE CHURCH OR CHARITY OF CHOICE.HAVE FAITH IN GOD THAT HE WILL HELP YOU TO ACHIEVE RETIREMENT SUCCESS IF YOU ARE WILLING TO ACHIEVE IT IN THE RIGHT WAY AND TO RECOGNIZE, DEVELOP AND USE YOUR OWN GODGIVEN TALENTS TO BLESS YOUR FAMILY AND OTHERS AND THEN GIVE HIM THE CREDIT AND GLORY FOR YOUR SUCCESS.

  “My name is Alex Opalstone and on behalf of myself and the Success Crew of North Ivy Academy, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today."

  The final slide looked just as the slide that displayed at the start of their presentation as it had their website address on it that was centered in large letters followed by a disclaimer that read just a few lines below it: The information in this presentation is provided with the understanding that the author, company, and/or publisher are not offering these materials as accounting, legal, investing, and/or tax advice as they may relate to this presentation. The information provided is intended for educational purposes only. Questions regarding the specific accounting, legal, investing, and/or tax needs of individuals who participate in any way in this presentation should be addressed to their professional advisor. Please consult with your professional advisor.

  The audience applauded her as she walked over to Julio and Leena. Amelia and Meredith were quick to go over to the crew and congratulate everyone for a great presentation. The emcee then returned to the front of the room and said thank you again to the Success Crew on behalf of the company. Employees were then excused to return to their workstations but some of them came by and made some comments to Alex as she was unhooking her mic.

  The first man to come by looked visibly frustrated as he tried to restrain himself enough to speak calmly to Alex. "I'm Sixty-two years old..." he stopped himself from finishing his angry complaint. He then gave Alex a long angry stare before walking away and mumbling, "Save twenty-five percent." He then turned back and looked at her again while walking away and said, "A bunch of thirteen-year-olds have a far better chance of retiring securely than I do. That's pathetic!"

  The young crew looked dumbfounded over the man’s angry remarks. But before they could get too caught up over what may have provoked such hostility, another man came up and thanked them for such an informative presentation before returning to work. While a few others also thanked them still others walked by with facial expressions of either frustration or worry. Both Amelia and Meredith noticed the mix of expressions of appreciation and uneasiness by various company employees on their way back to work and Alex looked to them as if to ask what went wrong. She knew the information would be hard for some to hear but she hoped more people would be grateful for her simple intent to help them retire happy and more prosperously.

  Meredith could see the worry on Alex's own face and she felt it was more important to look on the bright side so she counseled Alex, "Focus on the grateful faces. In time, those who may worry now may be grateful later." Meredith smiled warmly as she stroked Alex's head. Meredith then put her arm around Alex as they watched the employees return to work.

  As Leena and Julio began packing up their equipment, Alex did her best to smile and focus on the gratitude expressed by various employees of the company. But she could feel something wasn’t quite right. It felt like something was missing from their presentation. And what wa
s worse was that she felt like there was something in the future that was going to be horrible. It was if something outside of her, something out in the city was going to happen. Or was it something across the state? Or even bigger. Something across the country. It seemed like something big, something beyond her control was going to change. She worried and wondered how soon? How soon?

  Chapter 21: Making New Enemies