Diary of Seras Maldanado #5

Diary of Seras Maldonado #5

I visited Lake Greene yesterday. After Julianna brought up her love of fly fishing, I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I told her that I was super interested in fly fishing but had never gotten the chance to go back in New Mexico. This is partially true, I never did get a chance to do much fishing or any recreational activity that required me to leave home. I also became kind of interested in fly fishing after talking to Julianna, she's a damn good spokeswoman. Greene Lake is a fairly large lake, it is difficult to see the end of the north side from the south. It’s big enough for it to be the only “attraction” Franklin has. There are several picnic tables and grills that surround the south end of the lake while on the north there is a dock for fishing and a shack that rents rods and boats and sells bait. It's a shack that would barely fit four people in it, it's painted blue with white stripes and has a large, working harpoon on the top. It looks very nautical and cute, if not a bit old-fashioned. The whole lake is surrounded by Greene Forest. The Forest is filled with small camping sights and several “pretty decent” trails. This is all information given to me by Juliana. She also told me that both the lake and forest were named after Father Foster Greene. Father Foster was a priest that was beloved by the community back in the late 1800s. I wanted to know more but she only knew that much because of a placard on the other side of the lake. We spent about three hours fishing, one of which I spent learning how to bait and use a fishing rod. It wasn't until we were about to leave that I learned more. As we packed up and returned our boat back to the rental booth Juliana introduced me to someone who was about to rent out the boat we were using. His name was Father Donovan. Father Donovan Greene, Great great great grandson of Foster Greene. This was destiny. This was fate. I asked Father Donovan if he could tell me a bit more about Father Foster because I was so invested in the history of my new home. He seemed to jump on the chance to talk about his family history and religion with someone. The three of us sat down at a nearby table together and I found out this: Father Foster Greene came to Franklin in the spring of 1893, a short two years after the founding of the town. Franklin was once a part of the larger city of Frankfurt but separated and established its own government after several religious disputes took place between local Protestants and Lutherans. He quickly became a beloved figure within the community for his willingness to support the minorities of the community. These minorities were black and Hispanic people, single mothers, drunkards, and people of other religions. He welcomed them all into his flock and even allowed those who worshiped differently to continue to do so. He only asked that they listen to his lectures. He became especially well known for his baptisms. Father Foster believed deeply in the power of Baptisms and cleansing. He insisted on the Baptism of members of his flock and only allowed exemptions for those of different faiths. All others were baptized in what was known as Franklin Lake, later known as Greene Lake. The Lakes' name was changed to Geene Lake three years into his stay in Franklin. By this point, he had baptized hundreds of people including drifters who came through the city. His baptism supposedly healed the weak and feeble, cured men of their addictions, and brought forth great religious fever in people. Father Donovan laughed a little telling this part. He said that it was more than likely that these people just believed as they wished and even as a religious man he knew the limits of God's will. He continued explaining that the Forest itself didn't get its name until The Day God Slept. This was a fairly huge but under-discussed event in Franklins’ history. A man named Mathius Brown led a small group of locals to burn down the church, killing several members of Greenes’ flock, and then Greene himself. They did so by impaling him, then tying his hands and feet with heavy rocks and throwing him into the lake. To this day his body has not been found.

When he got this part Father Donovan became silent and somewhat distant. He spoke in a somber tone and was hesitant to go into detail. Which I understood, even if he doesn't know him personally Foster Greene was still a relative. I thanked Father Donavan for his time and promised to stop by his church if I had any more questions. The church itself was located further into the nearby woods in honor of its original founder. Juliana chewed me out something fierce for making her sit through all that as well but I wasn't really paying attention. I know there's no proof that my dreams and this Lake are connected but I can't help but feel like they are. What are the odds that just weeks after moving into a new place with a lake I start having water-based nightmares? It's got to be connected in some way, right?

SerasM