Cedar...

I have been through these ups and downs many times over the years..

I know some of us have more experience than others and I'm not here to crow and gloat ,but to share MY story with you and maybe someone can gain some confidence from my story,because we all can learn from each other..

When I first started in on line trading ,as soon as it was available through Greenline(TD BAnk) I was working full time at a high paying high tech job..

I would put in orders at night and track them on and off at work,but could not dedicate my complete time to looking after my money..

And I made all the rookie mistakes of loosing my shares of this and that by using stop/losses and missing the run up and selling too soon and buying too late and all the other bad things that happens to us..including reading every chat room and BB on line...But some how I came out ahead of the game slowly..

I even managed to make $75 grand on Bre-X...while others lost their life savings..

But it was hit and miss but I was learning and paying for my mistakes...some of which still are listed in my portfolio with $0.00 value...a reminder of money squandered by my inability to be a genius..and financial wizard..

And one of the things I learned are that commodities are cyclical..and to buy in a depressed market and sell in a rising market..

This is the hardest thing for all of us to do because basically market players are un disciplined..

If I could invest a dollar and get $1.30 for it very quickly,say 30 days that would be fantastic...roughly 30% in one twelfth of a year or 360% for a year.....(30%X12months)..

Many of us had opportunities like this on numerous occasions but I'm talking about me..and I have had tons of opportunities to do this and sometimes I have...

But I don't do it all the time or it doesn't all ways work that way but for whatever reasons it dosent always work out...But I also found out the two good stocks in a portfolio of ten can drive the portfolio up..

WHY don't I just take my 30% a month and move on...because I'm greedy..a dreamer and undisciplined..and I might add HUMAN..

I'm not a computerized trading program that can buy and sell ...and make money..

So I buy when I can when the market is depressed and sell when I can when the market is up..but I have to pay attention when the markets are open..9:30-4:00 EDT..

It is now a full time job for me ..

But I still make stupid moves and miss tops and bottoms from inattention or second guessing..I'm sure we all do it..

But I learned never to play with borrowed money..on margin or play short..just things I do not do..

And I keep a core holding of blue chip stocks..banks and insurance companies..they pay a divey and are pretty safe..always a minimum of $100k...

If every thing goes in the dumper I still have them which should be the last man standing..

I don't hold any bullion..survivalists hold bullion and guns..I have neither..

But I do know that this market will soon turn up..

It always does and if you bought too high..hold it..it will come back up..If the fundamentals haven't changed and you were happy to buy it at what you bought it for,hold it..and sell it later when it comes back..

I bought WTN in 2005 at the top around $4.85...at the end of the high met coal cycle and it went to $6.50 and I had stars in my eyes and my brains in the drawer beside me and didn't sell for a nice profit..and I watched it go from there to .47 this spring..and I looked at that lousy stock every day until it came back this spring and met coal jumped from $68.00 to $300.00 a ton and met coal stocks including WTN came back..I sold on this run up 11,000 share at $10.06 ... you do the math..anyway I ended up with a great profit for my patience..and it works over and over...now not all stocks come back..but if the fundamentals are right and the management is honest and well financed and have good backers..it will survive and prosper..

But I am a holder and learned patience so will make good money..I kept some of my coal cash in cash and invested in this distressed market including 30K KXL at $2.70....wish I could get that one back..

and my over all portfolio is in a paper loss this morning around 600grand..

But I have no doubts in my mind that our time is coming soon..

I'm to old to go back to my day job,but can still pick a few tunes and have my hobo gear that I can get on and head to the market to bum spare change and sell pencils..

The garbage can lids are not frozen down yet and I'm taking the week off and we are going to visit some of my in laws..and I may not leave if their freezers still have grub in 'em..

But what the hell..I never seen a Brinks truck in a funeral procession yet so the hell with it..I'm not going to let this market beat me..I'll leave that to the missus..

I'm grateful for what I have..no debt..new car..no mortgage..great family..great wife of 38 years ..our health..and my sense of humour..I'm here for a good time..not a long time..

And I also found out..I got old too fast and smart too late..

So I'm hanging in..Don't have to like the market but have to accept it for what it is..

Y'all have a great trading day and a great weekend..and if it is any consolation for reading my Thesis..KXL is going to finish green tonight..big time..The woodpecker told me..

PORTEE