I appreciate the responses. For clarification, I invested heavily in the first three positions I opened which were AT&T, Shell, and Southern Co., so I am a bit out of balance. I do have an IRA which is a mutual fund, but this is my first time purchasing individual stocks.
Greg, I hope you enjoyed your rafting trip. I'm in my early forties, so not as young as I'd like to be.
For today I bought a bit of IBM. I'm patient, and will watch for something I consider a bargain, though not sure what that would be. Three years is pretty short term in my mind, it's the + that worries me!
Thanks again for the insight, and have a great weekend.