The story of a small village in the large Kingdom of Placer

Once upon a time, there was a small village called Rocklin nestled within the Kingdom of Placer County. It was made of granite and sparkled in glowing sun found throughout the Kingdom.Rocklin, although quaint and beloved by the majority of its residents, struggled to claim its own identity and distinguish itself from the other villages in Placer's Kingdom. Village leaders were eager to grow the village, and they did. They built castles and cottages as far as the eye could see. They also built trails for villagers to easily travel from place-to-place in their chariots. The village, nearly built to its fullest, was a beautiful place to live. Upscale cottages and castles attracted the rich, and community spirit was high.Villagers and village leaders alike touted the school system and even people from outside of the Kingdom of Placer flocked to Rocklin because it was a place to send their kids to school while they escaped to other lands to perform their trade. It even had two colleges for young villagers to learn a trade of their own.Soon, however, Rocklin villagers became restless.While dwelling in their fine village was a dream-come-true, carriages and chariots filled the trails through the village, prompting longer journeys than ever before.The village also lacked its own identify. There was no village square. There was no theatre to entertain after a hard week of work. Eateries were few, and shopping for goods and services the villagers most desired had to be done in other villages within the Kingdom of Placer. Rocklin was becoming nothing more than a place to sleep Then one week, village leaders decided to hire an experienced builder of town squares. They announced they would hold a week of meetings and invited all of the villagers to attend."We're going to build a town square," the village leaders said. "We want to know what you want us to build."The villagers came together and said they wanted town square with character. They gleamed with excitement knowing they would have a town square where they could shop, eat, work and find entertainment. Village leaders were also happy they would be receiving a civic center in the new plan as well.However, on the other end of the village, there were some villagers who were unhappy.They looked outside of their cottages to see trails in desperate need of repair. There was no place for their children to walk and play near the trails. "Village leaders said there is no money for our trails, but they are willing to spend money for a town square," they complained. "Can't we fix what we have before building something new?"The village leaders possessed no magical potion. They could not do everything all at once and make every villager happy.They again postponed fixing old trails and continued their plan for a town square and even attracted a developer, Sir Zalgud, who would work with them to build a town square.After years of planning, the town square was built. The villagers jumped with joy, as they finally had a true identity for the village they called home.The village of Rocklin was finally complete.Keith Reid is editor of The Placer Heraldcan be reached at keithr@goldcountrymedia.com or 774-7981.