Honor

I hope you'll indulge me by taking the time to read through this before I get to the weekly update. One of my heroes ran into the arms of Jesus on Monday, June 28. In the two weeks prior to my Father's death I had the honor of caring for him, along with my siblings. As the reality of the end of his earthly journey set in God brought several memories to the forefront of my mind that I had forgotten, memories that exemplify of life of honor and sacrifice. My Dad was a US Navy veteran, serving his country in the salvage and cleanup effort following WWII. But what I most admire him for was his devotion to his wife, children, grandchildren and countless others he came into contact with. I want to share just a few of those memories with you. My Dad was a flooring installer and the sole bread winner for most of my childhood. I don't remember him ever missing a day of work. I can recall several times where, despite having the flu he would leave the house with a large bucket, which he would use to vomit in at the job site. When I was a child he spent every Saturday with me teaching me how to golf instead of golfing with his buddies. I also remember being very excited when summer vacation approached. I so looked forward to the frequent times that my big, strong Dad would take me to work with him. The final memory is just one of the many examples of generosity that I, my siblings and grandchildren can testify to. Although my Dad had little money he paid for the weddings of his Angie, his granddaughter and Beth, the wife of his grandson. He also walked Beth down the aisle due to the absence of Beth's father in her life. What you really need to know is that he lived this way despite having been physically and mentally abused by his earthly father. As a result he struggled realizing his true identity and suffered from depression most of his life. BUT...he overcame because he realized how much his heavenly Father loved and valued him. I love you with all my heart Dad, and with God's help hope to follow in your footsteps.

WEEKLY UPDATE...Nothing has change since my last post. The S&P Index closed at 1022.58 on Friday. Everything, and I mean everything points to a bearish scenario. As you can see from the attached chart (click on image) the arrow has flipped down (red). The importance of this cannot be understated. The last two times this happened the market declined substantially for the next 29 months and 14 months respectively. IMPORTANT: In case you missed it I am recommending that you check the blog each day after 7 pm in addition to the Saturday and month end updates. The reason is that due to enhancements to the methodology it is no longer necessary to wait for the month end closing price to make a determination on longer term market direction. If there is a post on a week day night it will be because of a change in long term market direction.



FOR YOUR EDUCATION...No article this week. I simply haven't had the time. But next week I have something lined up. Have a great holiday weekend and don't forget to fly your flag!