I KNOW this is a cow bolting from the rotolactor situation, but having just spent a couple of days in the place where I grew up, I simply can't just let my feelings fester.
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What has happened to my beloved town?
It used to be a sleepy old joint, where you could cruise down after school through Littleton Park, past the Clock Tower and on to the Welcome Inn for a $1.50 bag o' chips.
We used to have character.
Now we have a concrete shoebox…I mean a mall.
This weekend our rural uniqueness takes another hit as McDonald's opens its shiny doors.
Once those golden arches light up, Bega becomes yet another outpost of American grease.
No longer an iconic Aussie town with its own rich tapestry of the past, but now a town that looks just like every other same-same invaded township.
When I run the streets of Wollongong, where I presently live, the overwhelming percentage of rubbish I see carelessly tossed into the gutters, car parks, creek banks and bush trails is McDonald's.
I would love to be proved wrong by the kids of Bega, but being a schoolteacher, I know all too well the throw-away attitude of today's generation.
I boldly predict that within days of the restaurant opening, there will be milkshake cups, chip packets and burger containers stamped with that all too recognisable M spread throughout the area from Kisses Lagoon, the netball courts, skate park and beyond.
My plan is to eventually come back to the Bega Valley.
It will sadden me to have to see that unsightly yellow M dominating the Bega streetscape.
No longer will my eyes be drawn to the iconic silos of the Cheese Factory as I coast into town for a Carpy.
No, the attention-seeking yellow and red will now kidnap my vision.
People claim they welcome the coffee and associated food that McDonald's will bring.
What is wrong with the cafes we already have?
Support our local businesses!
Put your money into Bega operations, run by Bega locals and you know that it will be staying there.
I'm sure the owners of the restaurant will plug some of their takings back into the community (free fat-burgers for our junior footy players), but also rest assured that a percentage of profits will be going back to the good ol' US of A.
Bega has just become another bar-coded feed-bag for the world-wide money-making corporation that is McDonald's.
They don't care about our cows, our obesity problem and our littered fields.
They just want our cold hard-earned.
Others say the restaurant will provide jobs.
Yes, paying 20 of our teenagers the minimum wage for two four-hour shifts a week is really going to inject money back into the region!
The only thing that makes this old whinger happy is that the place is situated almost inconveniently out of town.
Hopefully, proud locals will still frequent Evolve Cafe, The Nook and Pat's Place etc. - not just because they're just closer to everything else, but because they are more closely connected to Bega than an American fast food restaurant will ever be.
"I love my green paddocked Valley,
Its cows, hills and brown river.
But when I see those Golden Arches,
It makes my insides quiver.
The thought of all that plastic food,
Rubbish and fat kids,
In a town that is so proud
Of its farming heritage.
Where did all those paddocks go?
The cows, hills and brown river?
Every time I return to Bega,
Those concrete walls get bigger."
