Life Lesson

At 91 Helmut Schmidt has seen 'em come and seen 'em go. This makes for a number of quotable moments in his interview with David Marsh, published in today's Market Watch. But as wisdom for the ages, the following is in a class by itself:

"You can divide mankind into three categories. In the first category are normal people like you and me. We may have once stolen an apple from a neighbor’s trees when we were boys, or we may have taken a bar of chocolate from a supermarket without paying for it. But otherwise we are dependable, normal human beings. Then secondly you have a small category of people with a criminal character. And thirdly you have investment bankers."