I'm 84 and beyond dealing with puts, calls, shorts and whatnot. I'm sitting here enjoying a sip while BRK-B is down 11.8% from its all-time high 2.3 months ago.

I harbor a vague interest in the argument for cash and equivalents, leaning toward maintaining at least a few years' of recent withdrawals, and perhaps more if circumstances deteriorate or other opportunities are deemed likely to be more rewarding over the long haul.

At this point my wife and I have surely lived the bulk of our lives, yet I have few clues as to how long either of us may persist. We have four sons with families of their own. I love to imagine us leaving each of them something they'll likely appreciate.

The greatest threat to that is the government stripping us of our wealth as a prerequisite to compensation for either of us entering a quality full-service senior care facility.

That's a cross-generational stripping of the vast majority for the benefit of a small minority who aren't overly bothered by the exorbitant rates demanded to secure acceptable senior services.

I'm encouraged by the persistent growth in Berkshire intrinsic value, as calculated by many here. Regardless of what the market does, price always revolves around intrinsic value over extended time-frames, and so-far that's proven good enough for me. BRK's price is up about 500% over the past 14.5 years, despite it's recent 11%+ decline.

Along with Social Security and other market forces, that's produced an 8.1% CAGR in our liquid holdings. The value of our total holdings, including net liquid holdings, home, vehicles and so forth has increased 69% over the same 14.5 year period.

That may not mean much if the entire US economy goes to hell, but it's a good harbinger for now.

I'll hang onto my BRK, as I don't see a more reliable way forward.

Tom