BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – Sometimes we feel like pioneers…

Like we’ve left Pennsylvania. And now we’re in a covered wagon heading west towards the frontier… to a new life… to new lands… to build a homestead… and raise animals…

It won’t be easy. Hungry wolves and bears roam at night. We’ll meet hostile natives along the way. There are dangerous mountains and rivers to cross… 

How will we survive? We don’t know. But we’re not going back to Pennsylvania…

Greetings From Baltimore!

We made good progress today…

When I last wrote to you, we were in Jacksonville, Florida. We drove all night through – Brunswick, GA… Savannah, GA… Florence, SC… Richmond, VA… Washington, D.C… and I write to you now from Baltimore, MD.

The kids slept on the backseat. Kate slept beside me. I listened to classic rock on the radio. Hours and hours to think… about life… about marriage… about work… about mental health… about America… 

What’s Next?

An online friend wrote to us:

“I was just talking to a television executive who is interested in traveling families and I mentioned your amazing journey. But I just noticed you are at the end of your travels…”

“We’re not sure what we’re going to do next,” I wrote. “But we’re going to keep traveling. The difference is, we’re going to work. I’ll do my job. Kate will educate the children in a more formal way. I think we’ll be what they call ‘digital nomads.’

“We’re happiest when we’re on the road, dragging our little suitcase behind us from place to place, without any possessions or bills to pay. The lifestyle seems to suit us.

“Anyway, put us in contact with the television executive if you want…”

Get Ready: Weak Dollar Ahead

Yesterday, President Trump called for negative interest rates during a speech in Davos. 

“Love it,” he said, talking about negative interest rates. And if you’ve been reading these postcards, you may understand why…

The U.S. government CANNOT meet its obligations. And the ONLY way out is for them to devalue the American dollar and then meet their obligations with a watered-down currency.

Negative interest rates are just one way to do that. (Dan Denning explained this in more detail in the January issue of The Bonner-Denning Letter, out yesterday. You can read it here if you’re a Bonner-Denning Letter subscriber.)

Bill Bonner, Dan, and I know it. Trump knows it. The people who manage the world’s financial system know it. 

Here, Trump is explaining this in plain English.

I urge you to pay attention. If you own stock and bond ETFs and mutual funds, and you don’t want your investments to be watered down, you must dump them and convert the proceeds to gold.

The dollar’s devaluation began last year after the repo crisis. When investors realize it, stock and bond holders are going to be made into victims. 

Take your seat in the life raft now. Buy gold and silver.

– Tom Dyson

P.S. A disease is spreading in China and beyond. The epicenter is in Wuhan. We passed through Wuhan two months ago. When we were in China, I had a feeling we were taking advantage of our last chance to visit China before the doors closed. I didn’t know then what might cause China’s doors to close. I still don’t. But perhaps it’s this infection?

Like what you’re reading? Send your thoughts to [email protected].

FROM THE MAILBAG

Today, readers urge Tom to follow through on his plans to write a book… comment on his border crossing adventure… and remember their own hitchhiking trip…

Reader comment: What an adventure. Like bunches of other people, I have been fascinated with Postcards From the Fringe…and I LOVE the title. Superb. Here is one significant way that you and Kate can add value to millions of people’s lives in the next couple of years. Write your story detailing how your marriage weakened, then broke. What causes were at work? Where were your (and Kate’s) errors?

Then: What happened to your lives after divorce? Yeah, yeah, “We moved on,” found other partners, etc… but what happened to your souls and those of your precious kids?

Then: What caused you to re-bond, re-discover the love that “was only sleeping” (*see Monkees’ song from the 1960s*), and what are the results of that? We’ve heard a great deal of that story, but detail would be very important.

Tom, I’ve been a pastor for 41 years and five months. Just retired 10 days ago. I have seen so many marriages fail, inside the church, let alone outside. Do you know what is the cause of probably 80% of the crime, drug abuse, and general misery in our country today?

It’s the breakdown of everyday, intact, loving families that give children a chance to grow, learn, mature, and become productive, reasonably happy people as adults. Not “super-duper” families… just normal people living normal lives, together.

Tom and Kate… write the book, please. You’ll make a good bit of money in the process, but, more importantly, you will save marriages, increase intact, loving families, and literally save the lives of many, many innocent children.

Reader comment: Thank you for another great article. Was fabulous. I can so relate to leaving the Matrix. Did it a couple of times, only to come back because family members “needed” me. Bubcus. Was another ruse. Planning my final exit soon. I liked your strategy of investing fully in gold & silver until such time when the stock market will be more profitable.

Reader comment: Did you ever check that border patrol officer’s statement, that it is illegal to cross except at border crossings? I can cross the U.S./Canada border at will, anywhere I wish, as we do frequently along the St. Lawrence River. Legally, we are obligated to “check in” with Canadian Customs on the way into Canada or with U.S. Immigrations on our return, but there is no legal restriction on crossing points.

Reader comment: Your earlier travels remind of a guy named Richard Halliburton. He wrote about his travels in the ’30s and ’40s. He got himself into some dicey situations and was a bit of an adventurer, too. Hope your marriage goes well, your family stays tight, your life is good, and you find peace.

Did some hitchhiking cross-country in my younger years. (’60s and ’70s). Don’t think I would now.

Tom’s comment: Thanks to everyone who wrote in! Kate and I read all your notes. Please keep writing us at [email protected].