Hi, I am Melinda Jacobs... And every day I learn something new about myself.

Over the past couple days, I've been reminded of something that I have always known, and that's that putting myself on the line does not mean putting my family on the line.

Yes, I am very proud of being all that Family represents: wife, mother, sibling, daughter, sister in law, aunt, etc.

What I am not proud of is that at times these lines become blurred and I forget that what I say and do effects the people I care about most — which is all of the above.

After receiving an overwhelming number of responses to my new endeavor of riding on the web highway, I have decided that even though I will push the foot to the medal and provide you with what's happening and who's happening... in town... I will pretend like there is always a yellow light when it comes to the people I cherish the most, which means that taking that risk is something that I have to be really comfortable in chancing.

In other words, I took a chance by showing my vulnerable side, and from now on I will continue to keep the window open into My opinions and My words, while only half-way cracking the window into my personal life.

Don't worry; I still have lots of great nuggets for you, like this one:

The cliché that having money means having class....WRONG!!!!!!

I'm a child of the '80s, hence I've had the unfortunate experience of sitting next to Ivan Boesky's wife at a dinner. (Remember Ivan Boesky — the guy that went to jail for Insider Trading — among other things — and went from being a well-dressed and charismatic man...to getting out of jail completely disheveled and running into the arms of not his wife but another man?) Yeah, well, after sitting next to his wife at a dinner party and watching her lick shrimp juice off her hands during the presentation... I would have dumped her ass too! :-#=====

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Excuse me, but maybe she didn't know better — despite the fact that she comes from a wealthy family that owns properties like the Beverly Hills Hotel.

No matter how much money you have, or what kind of family you come from, having basic manners is not an elitist trait but something that is taught by those with whom you surround yourself, and who tell you the truth!

I recently had dinner at a nice steak house in downtown Minneapolis, and a homeless gentleman asked me if I could spare some money so he could get home. I asked him which bus he was going to take and where home was. After he informed me of his bus route and that home was the streets, I handed him $20 and BEGGED HIM to stay WARM and get some REST. He returned the thank you by telling me to have a good night, and as I watched him get on the bus I realized that I had just encountered a classy man! A homeless classy man — which made me realize that money doesn't buy you class; it just buys you a WARM bed and REST when you need it.