"Hitch" wrote in message
. ..

|
| Fortunately there are two of us on our street. There's me, the amateur
| woodworker, and I get many calls to make just a couple of cuts, can you
let
| me use your saw, how about that screwgun I saw you using on your deck...
| Then there's Ken down the street. He's a contractor, and while he does
get
| paid business from the neighbors, he also gets requests for freebies.
Good
| thing he's a friendly guy.
|
| --
| John Snow
| "Pull hard and it comes easy"

I firmly believe in bartering. I also firmly believe that if you do
something for someone else because you know it's the right thing to do (sort
of like charity) you wind up better off in the end.
The world is full of stories of those whom we have helped winding up in
a position to return the favor in bigger ways. Like eating for free a few
times after I pulled someone up the snowed in street. I didn't know he
managed a McDonalds's!
But then again moochers rate right down there with the "will work for
food" losers on the street corner. I'm not always such a great judge of
character, but I do catch on eventually.