Articles written by Michael Baumgardner

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What is Helium

About me - Michael Baumgardner

I have been married 4 times, have 5 children, and have had more occupations then I care to mention. The more interesting ones, other people have told me are; rodeo cowboy, automotive test driver, financial consultant, radio personality, newspaper columnist.

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Society & Lifestyle > Lifestyles Cowboy humor: True stories about friendship: 1 of 20
This is how an honest horse thief got even. My wife and I had gotten married right out of high school. We bought a small six acre parcel of land with a small house on it. In a about a two year space of time we had built a six stall horse barn so we could move our horses where we could take care of them and train them. Shortl... More..
Personal Finance > Home Insurance The most important things to consider when purchasing a homeowner's insurance policy: 1 of 12
How do you know what to look for in a homeowner's insurance policy? The first thing you should do before you look for a home- owner's policy is to sit down and determine what about your house and belongings is important to you. For example, do you have a large quantity of antiques, or oil paintings? Do you have one or two ca... More..
Personal Finance > Retirement Does it really pay to save for retirement?: 1 of 9
I have been a financial consultant for over twenty years. The amount of seminars, books, classes, and just plain experience in this business has taught me one thing. Enjoy life while you can. I know I will get a lot of arguments about this, but it comes form my clients that are already retired. Most of my retired clients tel... More..
Business > Entrepreneurial Spirit It's not about the money: Advice for entrepreneurs: 2 of 16
Starting a new business should not be all about the money. If that is your only goal you are probably doomed to failure. I speak from experience. My first business failed because I was so busy worrying about making money that I forgot to take care of my clients. Every client looked like a great big dollar sign. Once the idea... More..
Creative Writing > Short Stories Short stories: Growing Up: 14 of 78
Every child today should have been able to have the experience I did as a child. This story starts on a sad note, but allowed to me to have something to remember for the rest of my life. My parents were taking us to visit some friends of theirs that lived on a farm. On the way to the farm we were involved in a very bad autom... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Bush Administration Views on George Bush: 14 of 73
I remember a discussion form a history class in high school about Harry Truman. Many people thought Harry was way out of his league as president of the United States. After all, he was just a hat maker. He only managed to help win world war two. Now we have George W. Bush. Demonized much in the same way as Harry Truman. Beca... More..
Autos > Driving & Safety Elderly drivers: How old is too old to drive?: 6 of 25
Age should never be a determining factor when deciding whether a person should or should not retain a driver's license. I have seen people in their twenties, thirties, forties, and so on, that should never have been issued a driver's license in the first place! The reason a person is given the privilege of having a driver's ... More..
Creative Writing > Memoirs Memoirs: What my dog means to me: 115 of 428
We strolled past all the cages of the lost, loud, pretty, ugly, puppies and adults. There was one dog, or maybe puppy, that just sat there as we went by. She looked at us just as curiously as we looked at her. There was no barking, jumping up and down, and no look on her face saying " take me home, take me home". She just sa... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Lifestyles Cowboy humor: True stories about horses: 17 of 48
Being young and feeling invincible, I decided to "break" my first horse. I was about twenty and my new horse was a two year old quarter horse raised on open range. He was a beautiful buckskin color and very lean and muscular. A friend of mine had an indoor arena he said I could use. Keep in mind this is late fall in Michigan... More..
Creative Writing > Poetry Best love poems: 214 of 568
I was siting on a park bench not to far from home just sitting on a park bench trying to stay warm a pretty little girl wandered up and sat down next to me the next I remember was getting married on my knees I was sitting on a park bench not to far from home just sitting on a park bench trying to stay warm If you should go o... More..