I'm pretty sure that Hallmark doesn't have a card for this situation. Let's say, hypothetically (or not), you have a friend. You've kind of lost touch. You happen to pick up the paper. You see your friend quoted extensively. You read the article and figure out that he's being quoted because his $430 million hedge fund just blew up (that's business speak for went bust). You want to send him a note, something along the lines of it will all be ok in the end but you're not quite sure what to say. Hallmark is not an alternative.
What would you write? I am curious. I did drop him a note telling him that I expect that this will turn out, in the years to come, to have been simply a hiccup in a successful career.
Man, how do you lose $400 plus million.
Posted by Random Penseur at August 18, 2006 12:58 PM | TrackBackFor some reason "Crap Happens" just doesn't seem up to the task.
Posted by: phin at August 18, 2006 01:44 PMno kidding, phin.
I think you handled it very nicely.
Posted by: caltechgirl at August 18, 2006 02:48 PM"Man, how do you lose $400 plus million."
What I want to know is, how do I make ONE million? Right now I'd like to lose five digits' worth of debt. THAT would make me happy.
I guess you remind him that he is still very much in the game. I would find it hard to believe that anyone involved in those kinds of numbers would be down for the count any time soon. Speaking from the poorer sector, of course, so what do I really know??
Posted by: Mark at August 19, 2006 08:06 AMI thought about it, and can't come up with anything more tactful than what you already wrote down. On the other hand... would he appreciate the contact at this point? I'd be pretty embarassed ... maybe wait, now that you have his address and send him a note for a slightly more cheerful occasion?
Posted by: Hannah at August 20, 2006 02:06 AMThat's absolutely the perfect note. You are very kind to makebsuch an overture & I think it'll be received very well.
In a Hedge Fund your hedging or betting on a commodity or an investment in the hopes that it'll make money. This time around his team just chose the wrong horse.
Posted by: michele at August 21, 2006 12:07 AMIt may be the worst of cliches, but it's really true that you do find out who your real friends are in a time of trouble. People are probably disowning him left and right currently and life is probably pretty lonely. In such a humiliating situation, well, I'm sure he finds it nice to know he still has a friend, no matter how you worded your note. It's that you sent a note at all that counts.
Posted by: Kathy at August 21, 2006 11:45 AMWhile that's a helluva lotta "money" to lose, I presume his entire worth wasn't in a hedge fund. Unless he's a major league fool he's probably doing just fine. Still, that's a helluva lotta "money" to lose. I lost twenty bucks at the casino once so I know.
Posted by: Tuning Spork at August 21, 2006 05:48 PMMe, I'd send a note/email saying something like:
"Heard you may have a lot you're dealing with. If you want to vent, I'm around."
Low-key, yet reliable.
And if you do meet? Losing $430million = bring muffins. Chocolate ones.
Posted by: Helen at August 22, 2006 08:31 AM