Before we begin, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the lively discussion thread of the previous post. Solid, thought provoking stuff the kind of which makes this site special. I agree with most of the discussion, particularly that gold is your ultimate, certain store of wealth. I believe, though, that silver has a place, too. I've consistently maintained that gold protects your wealth while silver protects your purchasing power and the simple ability to even purchase things, in the first place. Let's hope we don't reach a point where it takes ounces of gold to fund a trip to the grocery store or gas station. Silver should fill that role.

Well, nuts. I sat here yesterday and kept looking at that gold chart and thinking (hoping?) that maybe, just maybe, the worst was behind us. Once again, it looks like I spoke too soon and should have, instead, stuck with my ideas from last week.

Sheesh! After last week, I was really looking forward to some down time and now, all of a sudden, it's Monday. Oh well, not much we can do except deal with it.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for this week to be over. The title of this thread refers to an old adage of the American West and it has to do with horses which, as you might know, need to be cooled and "walked" after a strenuous ride. Pretty well sums up how I feel. I need to be cooled and walked after this strenuous week. No time for that yet, though. We've still got to get through today's trade and, later on, I'll have some very important information for you.

I would imagine that most of you have already spent time last evening and today, digesting and learning from all of the information regarding the events of yesterday. Frankly, I have neither the time nor inclination to give you a full rehash of the events. So, for the sake of brevity, let's get right to it.