Headline in the Wall Street Journal October 28, 1929 immediatly following the market's catatrophic drop!

The crash of '73 - '74 may well have been described in similar terms as the Dow dropped to a "gut-wrenching" 577! Eight years of drought followed while gold prospered, finding its nadir in January '80!

In late '74 financial writer Andrew Tobias quiped, "The crowd had not just left the party, it was stoning the host!" The "stoning" has resumed!

The similarities today are obvious. The Great Bull, ('82 to '99) while it may not drop to 577, has certainly seen a precipitous move down in the ensuing years with 2008 ending most ungraciously with the most feared of investor syndromes, "the necessitous liquidation of impaired accounts" drawing markets down in excess of 50%!

Meanwhile the gold bull charges onward and upward in "fits and starts," although the trend has been solidly upward, with impending inflation and the global financial chaos sending "the Bull" the same message as an electric stock prod.

Where and when will it all end? It's anybody's guess but the message I hear is "not soon!" (although the powers at be will do all in their pervue to convince us otherwise!)

Will SAN follow gold? IMHO, yes, but in similar "fits and starts!" The "ride" hasn't/won't be smooth but if you've ever watched Extreme Bulls you've had at least a peak at the next few years with Jr producing gold equities! Unfortunitely 8 seconds won't conclude a "ride"on SAN! 8 months, not likely. 8 years, it may have come and gone! (The next 8 years, as some have already ridden "the horns of this dilemma" for that long!)

At least in this "sport" you can hang on with both hands, don't need headgear, chances of a "goring" are becoming more and more remote, (called "the Hinge") and your final paycheck, if you complete the ride, will certainly exceed that of some Cowboy/Cowgirl who wins the bull-riding event at the Black Diamond stampede!

There's nothing like it for just pure unadulterated fun! Bull riding, I mean!

RUF