Eleven Shares

[mabfan]

Throughout much of her life, or at least that part of her life for which I was around, my mom kept a stock account at Merrill Lynch. There was never a huge sum of money in the account, but there was always something – stocks, bonds, etc. Like the savings bonds that my brothers and I kept in a safe deposit box, the securities in Mom's account were meant for use at some distant, unspecified point in the far, far future, when we would need the money.

When Dad died, it was time to cash in our own bonds.

When Mom died, almost six months ago now, she still had her account at Merrill Lynch. But in the last years of her life, she had depleted the account, selling off stock in order to pay for the various necessities of life. When my brothers and I liquidated the account, all that was left was eleven shares of one particular stock.

Today, I bought eleven shares of that stock. For the rest of my life, I may find myself needing to use funds for my own necessities, but I'll always know that those eleven shares are there, as if Mom is still looking out for me.

Comments

[ennienyc.livejournal.com]

My Nana owned stock in a no-name pharmaceutical company that got taken over by Schering Plough. She always marveled about how well she did with this investment. When she died in 2000, she left me $25K.

I used most of that money to support a low-paying freelance career, but in Nana's honor I bought 20 shares of Schering Plough. It's since split and at the moment the 40 shares are worth less than I paid. But that could change, and the point is that I too consider this Nana's way of watching over me.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one to do something like this.

[querldox.livejournal.com]

Know the feeling; I was given one share of First Union (now Wachovia) stock at birth by my maternal grandfather, and shortly before he died when I was 11, my father bought me 5 more shares to go with the 7 shares stock splits had turned the original into. Still own them, now with dividend reinvestment up to 150+ shares.

[osewalrus.livejournal.com]

My grandfather Marker left shares to all of us when he died. My mother has done the same thing -- never selling the stock. She used to say every quarter when a dividend check came in that she felt like it was a check from her father.

[ianrandalstrock.livejournal.com]

So, nu? Which company? Inquiring former day traders want to know.

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

*hugs* That's lovely.