I never had the pleasure of taking a class on rhetoric. I picked up everything I know about debating from the street. This wasn't as easy as it sounds, because, rather than flowing words, the street tends to prefer pounding fists. Not to say that's not instructive. You learn a lot when life and limb are at stake. For example, did I ever tell you about the time I stopped I street fight.

This is a true story.

A few years after graduation (i.e., we were adults), we happened to be visiting our favorite watering hole next to our alma mater. In a splash of spilt beer, a stewing argument spilled out into the open street and down a dark alley. There were three of them squared off against three of us. And dozens of spectators, most of whom were on our side. Why they didn't intervene to stop the impending fisticuffs, I'll never know. After all, we were short-handed – one of our three lost an eye playing in the International League (you know that one, it's the one they made the movie Slapshot about).

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Christopher Carosa

Chris Carosa has been writing a weekly article and monthly column for BenefitsPRO online and BenefitsPRO Magazine since 2011 and is a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. He’s written seven books, including From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA; Hey! What’s My Number? – How to Increase the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort; A Pizza The Action: Everything I Ever Learned About Business I Learned By Working in a Pizza Stand at the Erie County Fair; and the widely acclaimed 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions. Carosa is also Chief Contributing Editor of the authoritative trade journal FiduciaryNews.com and publisher of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper he founded in 1989. Currently serving as President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and with more than 1,000 articles published in various publications, he appears regularly in the national media. A “parallel” entrepreneur, he actively runs a handful of businesses, including a small boutique investment adviser, providing hands-on experience for his writing. A trained astrophysicist, he also holds an MBA and has been designated a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Share your thoughts and story ideas with him through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christophercarosa/)and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ChrisCarosa).