Once upon a time, across from the house on the Worst Corner in Town, in a lot nobody paid much attention to, a ramshackle garden sprang up. Over the years, people tilled the soil, planted, and harvested. At some point it was officially named, became a non-profit, made small improvements, and was fenced in with an unassuming chain-link fence. In recent years, each growing season, 40 families have farmed their little plots within that garden, pretty much undisturbed.
Recently Habitat had determined that the Land of Hudson was fertile ground for their housing projects, especially since, as one of their board members admitted, Hudson gave them free land, where no other kingdom would. And since even Hudson was running out of "free" land to give them, they decided they wanted the four building lots that comprised the Community Garden. The land is owned by one of the alphabet-soup city agencies, whose purpose, though foggy for twenty years, has been to encourage housing. So the king and the princes decided to give the lots to Habitat.
The good people of the land rebelled, and collected over 1500 signatures on a petition, asking the royal family to leave the garden alone, as it served far more families than four houses would. But, even though their numbers were mighty in a realm of less than 7000, their pleas went unheeded.
Thinking they were making a Solomon-like decision (never mind that Solomon never completed what he suggested -- that, in fact, it was just a test) the Royals decreed that the land should be split in two -- with the larger portion going to Habitat, and the smaller parcel (which unfortunately included a large tree which hid the sunlight) being left for the garden. And even that small piece would only be lent for another year. And it was made so.
The moral of the story, boys and girls, is that there isn't always a fairy tale ending. Another reason I won't donate to Habitat.
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