Trading

   Modern Western society is lacking in the art of bartering and trading. I have no experience whatsoever in marketplace bartering, except maybe a that time I haggled over a vintage bottle opener at a thrift shop. They run a hard bargain, let me tell you. But not quite as hard a bargain as my mother when she trades marbles with our eight-year-old neighbour.
   Picture this: my mother in her late fifties, complaining that our young marble-dealing neighbour is ripping her off. The best part about these trades though is that no matter what they trade, our neighbour will always be able to see them again, or even trade them back. I'm sure if it came to tears, my mother would make it seem like she was losing a lot of great marbles, and give him all the best ones. She is not a tyrant in that way. They might as well be trading fine silks, or golden chalices the way they carefully deliberate over the intricacies of a trade.
   According to my young neighbour, the best part of trading is that you can get good deals. Better than what you might get at the toy store I guess. So its a more bang for your buck situation. And you can still enjoy the merchandise and play with them without being harassed by aggressive sales-people. Its a win-win I'd say. Now the only question is how can I get designer shoes that way?