Once upon a time, many years ago, in a large city called Dar es Salaam, there were these foreigners living in the far northern part of the city called Mbezi Beach.
They felt left out. They felt rejected. All the people in the center of the city, and the southern part of the city, had all sorts of great restaurants and markets and shops. Most importantly, they had a place called Shopper’s Plaza. At Shopper’s Plaza, you could buy bacon and cheese and broccoli and all sorts of wonderful things that you couldn’t find anywhere else in the city. And those things are pretty important to foreigners.
But those poor folks out in Mbezi Beach? Well, they could buy things like flour, sugar, and beans out in their area, but if they wanted yogurt, tortilla chips, or Oreos, well, they had to drive to Shopper’s Plaza. And that usually took about an hour each direction.
It was very sad. As the years went on, Shopper’s Plaza got bigger and better, and another Shopper’s Plaza opened in Dar es Salaam….but it was still nowhere near Mbezi Beach. All the Mbezi Beach folks had to drive that looong distance and no one seemed to notice or care.
Mbezi Beach friends would wistfully wish that one day there would be a Shopper’s Plaza in their area. A couple of years ago, rumors started circulating that a Shopper’s Plaza was being built in Mbezi Beach! But they were used to having their hopes dashed, so everyone just kept saying, I’ll believe it when I see it.
And then, on February 21, 2015, a miracle happened. A Shopper’s Plaza did indeed open in Mbezi Beach! It was a dream come true! No more empty dreams of bacon! No more ice cream melting in the hour trip home!
It was wonderful and beautiful. All the Mbezi Beach friends went to the brand new Shopper’s Plaza on February 21st, because it was only 10 minutes away, and everyone needed to see it for themselves. All the friends jumped up and down and were positively giddy and spent way more money than they should have.
And they all lived happily ever after.
The End.
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