Roller Coaster

NEW YORK - The fiscal cliff took the stock market on a roller coaster Thursday. Small developments in the tense budget standoff yanked stocks back and forth throughout the day. In the end, U.S. stocks closed lower for the fourth day in a row, sending the message that the budget standoff is still far from solved, the economy still far from healed. Stocks trimmed their losses but still closed lower. The Dow finished down 18.28 points at 13,096.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.73 to 1,418.10.

In 1958, Samuel H. High 3d was a grownup who had never ridden a roller coaster, which in and of itself didn't make him all that unusual. But Samuel H. High 3d had roller coasters in his blood and didn't know it. His father, Samuel H. High Jr., was the majority stock owner in Philadelphia Toboggan Co., which built, among other machines of ornate exterior and simple pleasure, roller coasters. His grandfather, Samuel H. High, was the lawyer who helped found the company in 1904.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - If baseball is an amusement park, it wouldn't be hard to guess which ride J.C. Romero would be on. The veteran lefthander cheerfully admits that his career has been a roller coaster and, to be fair, that doesn't make him different from most relief pitchers. The best hitters tend to be pretty good almost every year. Same with the best starting pitchers. Relievers are more up-and-down than a double-loop coaster with hairpin turns and a stomach-in-your-throat vertical drop.

DARIEN, N.Y. - A U.S. Army veteran who lost both legs in Iraq and had been trying to rebuild his life was killed after he was thrown from a roller coaster at an Upstate New York amusement park. Teams of inspectors on Saturday were examining the Ride of Steel coaster at the Darien Lake Theme Park Resort, about 30 miles east of Buffalo. Sgt. James Thomas Hackemer, 29, was ejected from the 208-foot-tall ride Friday evening, after climbing aboard during an outing with family and friends.

Like many rookies before him, the 76ers' Rodney Carney has found NBA life to be similar to riding a roller coaster, only this one seems to go down more than up. And Carney has found something else, too - the rookie wall. "Yes, I hit that point a couple of days ago," Carney said yesterday before the Sixers left for Memphis - the city where he played college basketball, and the site of tonight's game against the Grizzlies. "I think it was the 33d game or something. That's as much as we played in college.

"Buyers are looking for deals. In no way do they want to pay. " — real estate agent Diane Williams. • "If it becomes clear that the bottom in prices has been reached, those who are on the fence will start jumping off, and that will lead to rising sales. " — economist Joel L. Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors, speaking of the real estate market. • "Subprime-style lending went to college, and now students are paying the price. " — U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, commenting on a report that looser lending practices and the pressure for profits drove expansion in the private-student-loan market.

Many amusement park-goers quickly volunteer to watch their friends' pocketbooks and backpacks rather than step into a roller coaster. They envision tumbling out of the ride, the coaster jumping off the tracks, or their lunch making an unexpected return. But to hear enthusiasts tell it, riding a coaster is fun, exhilarating and safe - for the most part. And stats from the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission seem to back the claim. "Riding a roller coaster is safer than driving a car or being in the home," said Ray Ueberroth of the American Coaster Enthusiasts.

If an amusement park roller coaster stops running in the middle of the day, usually it is a sign of trouble. But yesterday, as thousands of Muslim families congregated at Six Flags Great Adventure theme park here, that was far from true. Instead, it was time for prayer. The Kingda Ka mega roller coaster and the Moon Flume water ride were halted while men, women and children knelt facing Mecca during the Jummah Khutbah, the first of four prayers held in the theme park during the Great Muslim Adventure Day. While a few non-Muslims visited on their own yesterday, the park catered to Muslims of all nationalities and sects from throughout the Northeast as they enjoyed a day of family fun, charity and prayer.

Delirium. With a final, strikeout pitch from heart-stopper Mitch Williams at 11:17 last night, Philadelphia exploded in pent-up jubilation. All across the area, from rowhouse to subdivision, bandwagon-jumpers joined decades-long loyalists in a glorious outpouring of joy. For with a 6-3 victory, this underappreciated city wrested its first pennant in 10 years, its fifth of the 20th century. The night was a roller coaster. In their seats, on their feet, here, there, everywhere, Phillies fans moved from apprehension (0-0)

The operator of the roller coaster that crashed at Clementon Lake Amusement Park on Wednesday has been charged with violating a public-safety law and was fired yesterday as state investigators took their first look at the Jack Rabbit ride. Kenneth J. Juanico, 28, of Clementon, insisted that the crash was not his fault. Local police arrested him shortly after the crash and charged him with a third-degree violation of a law to protect public health and safety. He could face up to three years in prison and a $1,000 fine if his error caused the accident, which injured three riders.