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You know those moments when you just have to think of something good, like when your kid is having a meltdown?  Or during wisdom tooth extraction?  Whenever I need to forget about where I am, or just want to feel really good, I evoke the memory of the best kissing experience I ever had. I'd become great at summoning up the inside of Eric's red Volkswagen at sixteen, or in Washington Park with Theo, just around graduation, the rebound relationship that never quite became anything, but was thrilling just the same.   Who would have guessed that so many decades later I would get my best first kiss...

When you drive a regular route, you get used to seeing the same people often. There's always the joggers, the women with the strollers, the parents waiting with children shivering at the bus stop on those frigid winter mornings. There’s one particular woman, I see every day at 7:30 as I round the corner onto the Post Road.  In every kind of weather, she’s outside, walking a her little black dog up one side of the street, and circling back.  She wears a black Persian lamb coat and on colder days, sports a matching black mink pillbox cap and knee...

When my son came up with the name "Psychotic Leopard" for this site, I felt in my gut that it was perfect - slightly shocking, unusual, and bizarre, exactly like the kind of stuff I am attracted to buy, wear, and sell. Shortly thereafter, my very good friend, Monica, sent me a link to "Spirit Animal Totems and Their Messages" website, which she occasionally refers to when she sees or dreams of an unusual animal or one which appears out of its normal setting.  I decided to check what it said for "leopard" and found it could not be fitting to my life...

Barter, the exchange of goods or services for other goods or services without using money, is a wonderful way to save money, make friends, and get great stuff!  It helps develop key survival skills in any economy, and fosters an environment of collaboration and sharing. For some reason, however, many people initially become uncomfortable with the notion of trade.  When speaking to friends about my idea of hosting a swap, often they will say, "But I don't have anything to trade!" or "I'm not sure what exactly I need."  Fear no more, and take my handy dandy "What do I have to...

Why trade?  In this economy, why not?  Barter, or the act of trading without the use of money, has many benefits, including the following: SAVE CASH - benefit without spending money SAVE TIME - have others do what you prefer not to MAKE FRIENDS - everyone has something to offer HELP THE ENVIRONMENT - reuse, recycle, reduce EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN - learn how to negotiate and much more EMPOWER - value labor and develop self-reliance, as well as the power of negotiation BUILD COMMUNITY PRIDE - collective power through the individuals in a group HAVE FUN! My earliest trade occurred...