To say that I was just like all my friends and siblings as a child would be a stretch.  That said, none of us are alike and our interests are as diverse as each snowflake that falls from the sky.  At the age of 15 I became very interested in the stock market but had little knowledge or where to get it.  Besides, I was too young to be an investor.  I wanted to be a stock investor and had dreams of being a Wall Street “big wig.”  At the same time I was a very active kid, playing Hockey and ski racing, riding motor bikes and snowmobiles but my Wall Street dreams were never far off.

In the spring of 1975 my grandmother took me to meet a man who ran the local office of Bosworth & Sullivan, a brokerage firm with an office in Aspen.  They were located in the office building at Main Street and Hunter Ave. next to the new Playhouse Movie Theater.  Fresh off of a stint as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives, Michael came back to Aspen where he and his wife “Kitt” were raising a family.  Michael, with a little help from my grandmother, took me under his wing and started the process of teaching me about the stock market. I spent many afternoons during the summer hanging out in his office, watching the “ticker” symbols scrolling by on the digital stock ticker display mounted on the wall.  Every afternoon, between phone calls and other meetings, Michael would give me a lesson on investing.  What to look for and what to avoid.

On occasion I would come to Michael with a company I thought would be a good investment and sometimes I was right but most often he proved me wrong and why.  His lessons went beyond investing.  He taught me how to look at a company and its management, how to invest in a company financially but not emotionally.  He showed me the value of a dollar and the value of a penny.  He gave me life lessons and a sense of morality in what could, and years later became, a corruptible industry.

Over the years I used what I learned from Michael in every aspect of my life.  When I went off to College in 1979 I lost contact with Michael although I continued to invest in the markets through the local Bosworth & Sullivan office in Greeley, Colorado.  Our paths crossed over the years and were always very cordial with a little catching up. I learned a few years later that I was actually distantly related to Michael and his family through a family connection on my mom’s side of the family and through Kitt Strang.  I was never close nor distant to his kids. We ski raced on the same team but otherwise our lives followed different paths.

In January 2014 Michael passed away and a flood of memories came back.  I doubt Michael ever knew the impact he had on my life, nor did he need to.  I am sure he influenced others in different but impactful ways.  He was a good father, great mentor, amazing statesman and a steward of our land and its resources.  Even in the divide that became our diverse lives, Michael will be missed and never forgotten.

I never became that Wall Street “Big Wig” but my life is full and successful in my own way.  I have many people to thank for that and among them, Michael stands out.  Good bye my friend and mentor.