By Dave Begel Contributing Writer Published Jun 19, 2015 at 6:56 PM

Once upon a time, there were three boys who had one wish in life: to build a great lemonade stand.

They had a recipe for lemonade that they believed could be the best the world ever saw. But there wasn’t any wood in their hometown far away to build a lemonade stand. So the boys looked far and wide and found an old stand in a village far away. It was close enough so they could go there on the wings of their favorite dove and didn’t have to fly too far.

So, they bought that old stand. Their parents said they could have a stand, but they had to get rid of the old one and build a brand new one in its place. So the boys bought that old stand and said that they were going to build a brand new lemonade stand on a patch of ground that had lain fallow for a long time. Nobody wanted that land, but the three boys said it would be perfect for their cool new stand.

They said that they would each break into their piggy banks to help pay for the new stand. But they wanted people who lived around the vacant land to help them. They promised that if the people did, they would enjoy the new stand and all the activity that would surround it.

But the people weren’t too happy about it. They wondered why they had to help pay for a lemonade stand that the three boys could build themselves from the extra pennies in their piggy banks.

The boys tried to explain it. So did some of the big boys in the village where the new stand would be. It was going to help make the village one of the nicest around. It would attract more boys and girls to move there and to live there and to work there.

One day, the big boys in the village said they had a plan to raise the pennies needed to build the stand. But it was very complicated and hardly anyone could understand it.

People in the village made it even more complicated by crying about it, their tears making a mess of the land where the new lemonade stand would go. It just seemed like there were too many people who didn’t like lemonade. They thought they could drink water and be just as happy.

The three boys worked very hard to get their lemonade stand. They had friends in the village who worked very hard. But after a short time, the boys grew tired of the trying to convince the people of the village that helping them build their lemonade stand would be very nice for everyone.

So the three boys had a meeting.

Their parents gave them a deadline and said that they had to get their new stand built pretty soon or else they were going to have to take their magic recipe for lemonade somewhere else.

The three boys were getting tired. They had been playing for a long time, and their parents told them they were have to come inside for dinner pretty soon.

The boys decided that the people in the village didn’t really want the lemonade stand enough to want to help the boys build it, and they didn’t want to fight anymore.

So they began looking for another village to build their stand. They wanted some place that was pretty close to their home. They wanted someplace that used to have a lemonade stand but didn’t anymore.  They wanted someplace where the people were smart and would help them.

They found a new village called Cincinnati.

The people in the old village wondered where their lemonade stand had gone. They were sad.

But everybody else lived happily ever after.

Dave Begel Contributing Writer

With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.

He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.

This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.

Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.