My Personal Take on the Buffett Lovefest

OMAHA, Neb. -- The word meeting does not do justice to the annual Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A Quote) shareholders' gathering: It really is a three-day circus of old friends reuniting, eating lots of red meat (this is Omaha, mind you), spending lots of money, and of course, creating a giant tribute to Hizzonah, Warren Buffet.

As a first-timer with one companion, you do feel a little on the outside because there are lots of people in large groups who clearly have been here before and are enjoying the heck out of themselves. Given the stock price, they're probably not enjoying themselves as much as in former years, but this was clearly a group you would not feel sorry for as far as net worth is concerned. Before the meeting, I bought my wife a Tenth Anniversary yellow diamond ring at Buffett subsidiary, Borsheims, the cost of which frankly still hurts, even with the shareholder discount.

(I also wonder about that discount, since my grandfather told me his first job in his father's store was walking up to each garment and marking it up 30%, while his brother followed close behind with a red marker boldly slashing 20% off the price for the advertised "sale" -- which, if you've done your math, actually nets out to a price increase.) ...