Lot 19 Times

SPLOT! 19

In the late 1920s, when Maurice Renaud decided to flatten the sandy moraine at the south end of the farm lot, he didnít realize that he was toying with a fragile eco-system. All summer long, two men and a horse carted the sand down to the river, where Arthur planed to build 8 cottages (i.e., a front for running whiskey across the river in speed boats). The large hole left by the over-zealous workers became a very prolific marsh. Out of this neo-primordial swamp emerged hordes of muskrats, crayfish and frogs, many of which ended up on the dinner table. Today, when the frog population of Essex County has become severely endangered through a combination of urban sprawl and pesticide run-off, it would be ecologically responsible to revive this marshland and turn it into a breeding ground for frogs. In fact, Lot 19 could be the ideal site for a frog farm. The frogs could be canned and shipped as far away as Thailand, where this convenient packaging of an ancient delicacy has achieved great success in recent years. On a more poetic note, the nocturnal croaking of the frogs would also serve a memorial purpose, reminding local inhabitants of the French heritage of their land.

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