The Daily Dow
Tuesday, July 15, 1997
by Robert Sheard

LEXINGTON, KY. (July 15, 1997) -- Every once in a while I hit the runner's equivalent of "The Wall." It's not writer's block per se, where one is physically and mentally unable to face the blank page (or computer screen), but rather, it's that I don't have anything particularly exciting to share about the Dow Approach some days and it's hard to go on.

On days like this, though, I think of all the non-financial reasons why I like the approach and the free time it allows investors. It affords me the opportunity to shut off the ticker tape long enough to watch my son's swim lesson because I know the Dow stocks are still going to be there when I get back.

It affords me the opportunity to play golf or read a book on the weekends because I don't have to spend that time trying to figure out my next day-trade.

It affords me the chance to take a real vacation a couple of times a year, where I can ignore the stock market altogether and not worry that my future is slipping away while I'm not watching.

In short, if you're not a full-time trader/investor tied to a Quotrek machine, it affords you a life. In thirty minutes a year, you can build a portfolio that beats all but the top one percent or so of all stock mutual funds over the past decade.

Come to think of it, that's pretty exciting news to share after all. Fool on!

(c) Copyright 1997, The Motley Fool. All rights reserved. This material is for personal use only. Republication and redissemination, including posting to news groups, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of The Motley Fool. ________________________________

Stock  Change   Last
--------------------
T    -   7/16  35.00
GM   -1  1/8   54.25
CHV  +   3/4   76.56
MMM  -1        102.50

          Day   Month    Year
        FOOL-4   -0.81%   0.34%   2.51%
        DJIA     +0.67%   3.84%  23.69%
        S&P 500  +0.81%   4.59%  24.98%
        NASDAQ   +1.20%   6.94%  19.45%

    Rec'd   #  Security     In At       Now    Change
   1/2/97  120 3M            83.00    102.50    23.49%
   1/2/97  153 Chevron       65.00     76.56    17.79%
   1/2/97  179 Gen. Motor    55.75     54.25    -2.69%
   1/2/97  479 AT&T          41.75     35.00   -16.17%


    Rec'd   #  Security     In At     Value    Change
   1/2/97  120 3M          9960.00  12300.00  $2340.00
   1/2/97  153 Chevron     9945.00  11714.06  $1769.06
   1/2/97  179 Gen. Motor  9979.25   9710.75  -$268.50
   1/2/97  479 AT&T       19998.25  16765.00 -$3233.25


                             CASH    $767.60
                            TOTAL  $51257.41