(No, Maurice, this is not a column on eating, so quit your drooling.)
The following metaphor has some relevant Alberta application. It goes as follows:
You will recall from your childhood reading the story of the goose that laid a golden egg, day after day. Shortsighted wise guys decided that there must be a ton of eggs stored up in her belly, so they slaughtered the poor thing--only to discover that there were no eggs, just guts.
And now, there is no goose.
You might say their goose was cooked, in more ways than one.
They were shortsighted wise guys, but they were worse than that: They were ignorant rascals, failing to deal appropriately with an economic opportunity right in front of them: They had the ability to create conditions for success (feeding, protecting, and maintaining their wealth producer), as well as overseeing any developments to enhance this wonderful opportunity.
You've heard of looking a gift horse in the mouth; this was looking a gift goose in the nest.
They should have known that "no goose means no wealth." Keeping the goose alive was the highest priority. Abuse the opportunity, and all is lost. Any farmer knows that, and the characters in this story should have too.
(I know this part is not in the original story, but the original story is a mere platform for what I'm really trying to say.)
Keeping the goose healthy, active, and productive should have been paramount to everything else. Having a goose like that—likely even "geese" someday--would have easily involved many related tasks: various parties had to raise, provide, and transport the feed; others had to provide the wood for the shelter, then transport it, build it, and maintain it.
Still others had to deal with the eggs that were produced: Maybe the gold was broken down into smaller bits; which would call for yet more tasks to to be divided up, involving shifting, storing, selling, and shipping.
It's funny how one thriving goose could provide so many benefits to a given community.
Furthermore, someone would have been hired to invest the profit from the eggs, with that investment being re-invested in buying more (golden) geese, which, in turn, would produce more eggs, thus creating even more employment. These spin-offs would include more workers and their families, and with increased families meaning more housing, schooling, and shopping.
But shortsighted, ignorant greed got in the way, and everything collapsed, by want of taking the bird out.
Other factors may have come into play, among other reasons: Something from the animal rights corner? Hygiene allegations, as in the mess of success? Noise level, as in too much squawking with
each delivered egg? Diversity issues , as in no ducks or chickens in the mix?
Lots of of crazy things happen, when people stick their noses in where they don't belong. And the victims, of course were the farmer and the people themselves. Yet they had no say in this matter.
My metaphor is not a stretch at all. You will see just how close to home it is next week.
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