"But when you have one million shares and the share price goes down ten cents where does the missing one hundred thousand dollars go. Sadly the money is not in somone's pocket or invested elsewhere. It has disappeared. I just got through reading the book, "Aftershock" and they say the money has gone to "money heaven"."

Good point, which is why one needs to protect the principal.... so that it doesn't go to money heaven on you, but bear in mind that that money can be reincarnated back into someone elses account when the sp goes up. Value is mostly man made and the only things that have true lifetime value for us are the earth beneathe our feet, food and water, air, etc. The rest is human imagination/invention and an agreement amongst people as to what we accept as "substance" in our lives. Stocks are a good example of what is here today and potentially gone tomorrow.