Thanks! I see it this time.
The second try blew my mind again because I basically doubled my money. Teaching an even bigger lesson: When I first saw the graph soar like that, I thought, "That can't be real." Afterward, I realized the timeline was A PERIOD I ALREADY LIVED THROUGH - the three years starting from June 1995!
To top it off, at that time I had recently made my first stock investments. They were via a company 401k plan. I followed that wise move by quitting my job and taking a 3 year sabbatical in the middle of a huge boom (foolish!). I clearly remember at the time, in January of 1996, hearing about record highs in the stock market. "I would not buy any stock now," I thought. "Surely these shortsighted fools will lose their money." I don't remember thinking about the 401k at all, I guess because it felt like something locked away for later. I saw numbers from time to time about a rising market, but never grasped that it had actually doubled. In the meantime, I paid half my expenses from cash in the bank (yes, really) and half from property rent.
Obviously I am not a fast learner...if I can do this, anyone can. :)