Opinion: You press the button, we do the rest

So a few months ago I bought some Kodak stock, not particularly because I have any sort of stock market acumen, but because it was A) cheap and B) Really cheap.

Plus there’s this segment of the photography population that still likes to shoot film. Back in the film days of photography, Kodak made oodles of money.

My grandfather use to own the stock and he’d sit in front of the tevee watching the news and when the stock report came up, he’d say, “Well, I made money today.”

Then he’d laugh.

My grandfather was a dairy farmer. He worked every day of his life until his mind left him. Making cash on stocks was the icing on the cake.

So at any rate, I bought some Kodak stock somewhat out of nostalgia and then Kodak announced it was getting into the pharmaceutical business and then it got a big, fat government loan.

The stock, as you might imagine, went through the roof.

I wish I could say I made a million dollars, but if I had made a million dollars I wouldn’t be writing this column. I would have paid off the mortgage and then I would have bought a really nice camera, maybe two and then headed for the hills on an extended vacation.

But I didn’t make a million dollars. I made enough to make a mortgage payment, maybe two.

Sold the stock just in time, too, as it went south as fast as it went north.

Now the whole government loan and the stock is under investigation and as fast as the price went up, it went down. There’s cries of corporate malfeasance as the CEOs of the company, which did hold thousands of shares of stock, actually did quite well on the whole deal.

To put it in perspective, the stock at one point was worth about a buck-fifty. At its high, it was $60.

I have to admit it was fun being an innocent bystander, watching the whole drama unfold.

Now I’m on the lookout for the next big thing.

But then again, aren’t we all?