Oncce Upon A Time

Once Upon a Time The small river and the tiny lake we used to swim had muddy looking water, ugly fish and a crocodile which ate a goat with a bell that continued to toll? In the beasts stomach, and warned us when it was time to get out of the water. Gypsy children bathed here while their mothers washed and watched by the shore. Then the small river and the tiny lake was bought by a consortium, a tall fence erected and work began to make the place into a rural, nature park. Where the river ends, a cascade falls in to the lake and the water is clean and clear, the bottom of the lake is cemented and painted blue. Of course there is an entrance fee to this Paradise, a café that sells coffee, hot dogs, and ice cold beer. Gypsy children are not welcome here- not many places else- they have to find another muddy river and a lake, not yet sold, to the highest bidder, in our blessed, divisive democracy.