"Cross the Gypsy's Palm with Silver"

Well, I’m not really a Gypsy, or their more proper name for themselves, the Romani. But the old saying still holds true. You have to play the piper, so to speak, if you expect to get a reading of any worth. Another way of saying it is “no tickee (or monee) no washee)”. My days of giving out free rides are over, and I will give out five free minutes coupons strictly on merit. Don’t expect anything for free if you haven’t given me anything lately. I need to pay bills, and to eat. Actual silver never changes hands, but the saying still applies. Instead it is electrons that flit from one place to another. But you start the process by your willingness to pay for a reading. All I can promise is that I shall give value for value received. The only $20 I earned, I had to use for bidding. I almost quit KEEN. I may quit anyway, when Stephen6580’s largess runs out. I think that having to spend your own money for bidding is a rip-off. On March 1st or when Stephen’s largess runs out, if things haven’t picked up for me, I shall leave Keen and tell Stephen “The people have spoken. They don’t think my readings are worth paying for.”

This is not a charity. We are here for one reason, and one reason only; to use our psychic skills to make money to live. That is it. Nobody’s driving a Mercedes. I joined Keen for one reason only: to try to augment the meager stipend I receive from Social Security, which is not nearly enough to live on. So consider: when you use your free five minutes, and only your five minutes, you’re taking food out of someone’s mouth. Someone will lose her electricity or phone, or maybe even her home if she cannot afford to pay her rent. If you can’t afford to pay for a reading, maybe you shouldn’t be a member of Keen at all. There’s an old Dutch word: tanstaafl, which means there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. Someone always has to pay. If you aren’t getting your 5 free minutes, ask yourself: What have I done to deserve it? It is a privilege, not a right. Basically it’s an incentive to get you to spring for a paid reading. My really good readings are at least 15 minutes.long. That’s the only way I can interpret fully the cards I draw. If you expect a reading for only 3 or 5 minutes, you are shortchanging yourself, as well as me. I am not a “pure” psychic, nor have I ever claimed to be. I require the focus of a card deck to bring forth my psi. Cards must be shuffled, and counted. Cards have complex imagery and much symbolism. It is these symbols which bring forth the interpretations, and thus your oracle. You must respect the process, and in this society, this culture, the way respect is paid is by paying money. If you respect me, I will respect you. But no more free rides.