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To: Herm who wrote (11154)	7/4/1999 1:55:00 PM
From: Herm	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 14162

Happy 4th of July to all of my friends and family We are all so blessed with a great many things like health, a job, a loving family, and the ability to generate income from stocks. What a country friends. It's truly a wonder! A friend of mine is into a non-profit national organization involved in studying and recreating US history for the sake of keeping the TRUE RECORDS straight and the true stories alive. In other words, they do public staged combat scenes for big events around Florida. Although, I understand they exist in just about every state. Sometimes, you have to dig pretty deep in other to separate the bull from the facts. Here are some important tidbits she passed on to me. Take a moment to read below and see if it doesn't take on a different meaning of the holiday. Declaration of Independence Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot of what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't just fight the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government! Some of us take these liberties so much for granted . . . we shouldn't. So, take a couple of minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

To: Herm who wrote (11154)	7/11/1999 12:23:00 PM
From: Herm	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 14162

VIX READY TO DUMP??? WATCH OUT! Successful investors that have been around for some time have all learned a common lesson they don't wish to repeat. It goes like this, "what goes up, eventually comes down real fast in the stock market arena." Indeed, one of my favorate critics Michael Santoli, Barron's - THE STRIKING PRICE, addressed the current VIX level this weekend in weekly column. The article was entitled, SUMMER OF VIX - Options Index Hits a Low and Alarms Sound. In short, he sights the fact that "the major stock-market indexes are flickering around all-time highs." "The 30-year Treasury yield is hovering near 6%." "The CBOE VIX - lolls below the key 20-level. Welcome to July 1998." The circumstantial evidence stands pretty clear. "As Jay Shartsis' team at R.F. Lafferty noted last week, the previous three times since early 1998 that the VIX breached 20, stocks have either consolidated for a while or sold off. Granted, the indicator hasn't yet repeated the extreme lows below 17 of last July 17, 1998, but this July and the last are nonetheless starting to rhyme." bigcharts.com You can have the chart of the VIX emailed to you each day from the BigCharts web site. Not a bad idea! USING VIX FOR A WINS ADVANTAGE You would be surprised to learn how many investors don't pay attention to such indicators like the VIX. They say that, "necessity is the mother of all inventions!" Well, you can bet your last dollar if the the CBOE created the VIX it must mean something to the fund managers, market makers, and serious money. It better mean something to the small investors like you and I. We are playing against the big guys. I for one don't want to get in front of that steam roller. I much rather follow close behind that sucker so I don't get flatten when the markets flip flop and reverse. The WINs approach advocates when such pivots do come that you CC at or deep into the money. You folks know that I tend to prefer going out a few months to grab bigger CC premies. With options expirations next Friday, it will be interesting to see if the current upward movement can be sustained. It seems too good to be true the past two weeks. Those PUTs are mighty cheap with some stocks. Assertive investors might want to review some sideshow possibilities for say September expirations PUTs.