Feldman's Faves: December 15, 2025

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE

Hard to believe but this morning will be my last Monday morning email for 2025. This has been a spectacular year, capped off by an amazing party last week (from what I hear….). Thanks again to all of you that organized it.

I am copying Sheldon this week (who reads these emails too). Sheldon is a great friend and mentor to me (and to many of us) and someone who represents the ethos of Goodmans – it is a mistake to confuse kindness and good nature with weakness. It’s a bitter sweet situation for me to say goodbye to one of our best humans at Goodmans. We will really miss you but are excited for you as you embark on your next career move. And like Phillip Rivers, there is always a chance you will come back. Just lay off the nachos…..

This is the time of year when I look back at where I was successful in meeting my previous year’s goals (staying off LinkedIn = success) and where I fell short (trying to bench 225 pounds = fail). It is also the time of year when I start to write down my goals for the next year. If anyone is interested in discussing your work objectives and how to make a plan for 2026, my door is always open.

I know we are all sprinting to get deals done for year end but I do hope that all of you get some time to recharge and to spend some time with the important people in your lives over the holidays. Wishing each and every one of you all the very best for the holidays and for 2026.

No theme this week =- just topics of interest (although there is some coincidental connection to the Coca Cola company as you will see).

THE WIDOW By: John Grisham –I think John Grisham has written more books than I have read. It is remarkable how prolific he is when It comes to his body of work. The Widow is his latest and has the usual twists and turns one comes to expect from the author. This book will not win any literary awards but if you want a quick read that is quite suspenseful with unexpected turns it is worth checking out over the holidays. As one reviewer notes, “I very much enjoyed most of The Widow by John Grisham. We’re introduced to likeable lawyer, Simon who gambles more than he should, sleeps in his office pending separation and divorce from his wife, and seemingly just scrapes by. He first assumes that drafting the will of 85 year old widow Eleanor will net him his usual $250 fee – and something that his assistant will (in fact) do on his behalf. However, Eleanor happens to mention her husband holding shares in Coca Cola and Wal-Mart and he realizes he could be sitting on a big pay day. Thankfully Simon isn’t as mercenary or heartless as Eleanor’s previous lawyer who included a half a million dollar bequest for himself, instead (Simon) helps her to divvy her estate to a number of charities through trusts (which he would—of course—manage, paying himself $500/hr) and also encourages her to leave a little money to her two selfish and estranged stepsons who have recently reappeared in her life. Initially he digs into her finances to ensure she’s telling the truth but Eleanor is very secretive and offended that Simon doesn’t believe her. In the end Simon accepts her word and befriends her, taking her for regular lunches and becoming someone she can rely on. And when she has a car accident and is hospitalized Simon seeks power of attorney and an advance health directive to make decisions on her behalf. When she takes a turn for the worse in hospital Simon is reluctant to turn off her life support – deferring to medical team to make those decisions. Unfortunately for Simon, the police get a tip-off that her death is suspicious and it’s discovered she was poisoned by cookies he’d gifted to her. In no time at all Simon is arrested and charged with her murder.

Simon is our narrator so we know fully well he’s not responsible for her death. We do know her money drew him to her case, but—in many ways—it seems like he came to care about her a little and he’s kinda got a good heart. Grisham does a good job at pacing the novel so the wait for Simon’s day(s) in court isn’t laborious and we soon move into the trial where it seems the prosecution is making a lot of assumptions with no real evidence. I liked the background colour here, Simon’s marriage ending, his relationship with his children complicated by the allegations and arrest, being confronted with his gambling problem and realizing he’s hit rock-bottom and of course Grisham does legal thrillers very well. I confess didn’t however appreciate the direction this ultimately took which seemed very left-field/random. Perhaps more suspects to muddy the waters might have allowed more false leads but it felt a little directionless and lacked some closure for me, meaning I enjoyed all but the very end. Although perhaps the message here from Grisham is one of the randomness of the universe, or fate or something.“ Grishan is a master of the legal thriller. This book is no exception. Here’s a good review from The Book Spy - https://therealbookspy.com/2025/08/11/a-book-spy-review-the-widow-by-john-grisham/

ACQUIRED - Coca-Cola – The boys from Acquired have done it again. They take a very deep dive into the history of this company and find some really interesting nuggets. But more than anything – at least for me – this episode is an exercise in nostalgia. In particular I was fascinated by the history of the PEPSI Challenge that led to the introduction of NEW COKE and the fallout the followed. This episode is a long one but worth the investment of your time, if you have any over the holidays. Here’s an excerpt from the PODCAST itself, “Coca-Cola is… sugar water. And somehow it’s also America, Christmas, summertime, friendship and happiness. Today we tell the story of how The Coca-Cola Company amazingly transmogrified a beverage into emotion in all of our collective psyches, and ALSO built one of the most incredible scale economy businesses of all-time. And oh yeah, there’s also cocaine, WW2, Mad Men, Warren Buffett, James Dean, Bill Cosby, Michael Jackson, Michael Ovitz, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, McDonald’s and Monsanto. So cozy up to the fire with your favorite images of Santa Claus and Polar Bears and enjoy an ice-cold episode of Acquired — always delicious, always refreshing.” https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/acquired/id1050462261?i=1000738059532

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and participation.

And remember to stay safe, stay healthy and to docket daily.

Jon