This was always one of George's strongest admonitions. Along with "Get everything working", the caveat not to succumb to your own gig was constantly enjoined. (One other homily, recalled on re-reading this, occurs to me here. This was advice never to succumb to the temptation for instant revenge of wrongs. Better, taught our Guru, to bide one's time and then, when opportunity presented , and no one was watching, why "...kick 'em - hard! - in the sore leg!". Ah-h-h-h-! such pearls of wisdom - it has taken a lifetime of living to appreciate what gems they truly were...). But to return to suckers and how they must not fall for their own rackets... George illustrated this with a personal tale, though in sticking to this admirable credo, it once cost him dearly...

    He and some partners had bought some worthless oil bids on land out West somewhere in the vicinity of some working-fields which were at that time producing nicely. The whole thing was an elaborate deception of some sort to ultimately sell the worthless lands to the "suckers" - of which there always seemed to be an adequate number. Usually it remained only to work out the details...

    Part of this venture involved retention of the services of some jackleg oil geologists to survey the lands and draw up the appropriate maps and so on. In time, the deeds were registered, the surveys made, descriptions written - whatever it took to get this offering on the road. At last all was ready.

    Shortly before the deeds were put up for sale and speculation, a couple of George's partners made additional surveys on their own - utilizing the services of some topnotch oil geologists. And they had made a fantastic discovery: instead of the land being worthless - it was really quite valuable. There was in fact, oil on it - and quite a bit!

    The next morning, one of these partners burst into George's office all wide-eyed and dishevelled.

    "George!" he screamed. "You've got to move! You've got to buy at once!"

    "Buy what?," George asked.

    "Some of our own oil bids," was the reply. "You've got to get right down to the land office this morning without fail and buy these plots legitimately in your name. I already have - and so has Jones. We've found there really is oil on them!!"

    "What", thought George, "are these guys up to?" Are they trying to con a con man?" His suspicions much aroused, he spoke his mind about such high-handed reversals and all and who did they think they were anyhow...

    His erstwhile partners pleaded with him - but to no avail. He threw them bodily out of the office. A few days later - the truth emerged - and he found himself out in the cold - the oil properties all gone off into the hands of his partners and several strangers who had leaped at the chance.

    He often told this story on himself - and laughed and laughed. But he held steadfastly to the end to the credo that one should "Never be a sucker for your own racket".