~ a partly found poem
Rainwater is best collected as it’s falling out in the open: not running through a gutter or a drain.
Water from a creek or river might seem ok, until you think of laundry and soap, villagers bathing at one end.
The wealthy pay to have a drill go straight down to the water table; then they lay pipes, devise connections to tanks in their fenced-in backyards.
To render water safe, we collect what we can in bottles, in pails, in metal drums.
The women improvise filters: squares of cloth cut from cotton undershirts.
In any case, we always boil the water on the stove.
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I remember having a flush toilet in our home only after I turned 3.
It took a few years until all the glazed bathroom tile was put in.
Before that, the nakedness of cemented cinderblock walls; a high window with bars.
When grandfather brought a sow from his farm to fatten for a birthday, they penned it in the unfinished shower stall.
Years later, rushing in to wash off meconium stains late in my first pregnancy, I thought of that pig and its wet grunting through the night.
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Traveling in foreign countries, I’m warned not to drink the water.
To keep the mouth shut, standing underneath the shower stream.
Not to swallow the residue in the mouth after brushing.
In St. Petersburg, they also said not to drink the water.
The only thing I could find was mineral.
Order Coke or Sprite, suggested my mother; no ice.
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Dorado: Spanish, from the past participle of dorar (to gild); Latin, deaurare, from de- + aurum (gold).
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In Dorado, Puerto Rico, in the aftermath of hurricane Maria.
They’ve fixed a broken fence, secured an exposed spigot, and put up a sign saying Peligro – Danger.
Before that, how many had already drawn the toxic water for bathing, washing, drinking?
The well at Maguayo #4 is part of the Dorado Groundwater Contamination Superfund site.
The US Environmental Protection Agency previously marked the site as toxic; it warned of the presence of industrial chemicals, including tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, known to have serious impacts on health including damage to the liver and increased risk of cancer.
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Here are some of the most expensive waters in the world:
Acqua di Cristallo Tributo a Modigliani – $60,000 per 750 ml
This is probably the most expensive bottled water in the world. Costing €60,000 for a bottle of 750 ml, this ought to quench your thirst and empty your pockets. The water is from France and Fiji. The bottle is 24 carat solid gold and was designed by Fernando Altamirano of Tequila Ley, who is also credited with the design of the Cognac Dudognon Heritage Henri IV, thought to be the most expensive bottle of cognac in the world.
Kona Nigari – $402 per 750 ml
Kona Nigari is a bottled water sold in Japan. It is collected from a spring around 2,000 metres under the sea off the coast of the island of Hawaii and is said to have health benefits.
Fillico – $219 per 750 ml
The bottles are made to look like chess pieces, in particular the king and queen. This is because Fillico water bottles are topped with golden crowns associated with royalty.
Bling H2O – $40 per 750 ml
The bottle is made out of Swarovski crystals and corked like a bottle of champagne. The price actually seems rather low, when compared to some of the other waters we’ve seen.
Veen 5 – $23 per 750 ml
Veen water is from Finland and arguably the purest water in the world.
10 Thousand BC – $14 per 750 ml
The water comes from a far-off and exotic place off the coast of Canada, so far that it would take a few days to get to the location the water is bottled.
AquaDeco – $12 per 750 ml
The name alone suggests that this water is heavily invested in style. But this is not a case of style over substance. In fact, in 2007 it won the gold medal for that year’s best non-carbonated spring water.
Lauquen Artes Mineral Water – $6 per 750 ml
It comes from an aquifer 1,500 feet deep in a remote part of the South American Andes. Another water that uses the purity and cleanliness of its source of origin as a stand-out feature.
Tasmanian Rain – $5 per 750 ml
As the name says, this water is sourced from the rain of Tasmania, the island off the south of the Australian mainland. What makes it unusual is that it’s collected in the bottle straight out of the sky.
Fine – $5 per 750 ml
From a spring in Japan, on the slopes of Mount Fuji, one of the most beautiful places in the world. The spring is located 600 metres below the mountain belt and the water is particularly pure.
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In the story, Midas is the guy who asks that everything he touches be turned to gold.
Golf courses of gold, La-Z-Boy loungers in gold, golden statues of naked boys and women.
Gold leaves in the garden, gold furniture in a golden house, gold crap in the toilet.
All the sudden bling, rooms of high culture and kitsch: gold paintings, beaver hats, condoms.
He is so mindlessly happy he hugs his golden-haired daughter, teetering in gold stilettos.
And then he sits down to eat and drink.
In response to Via Negativa: Harvester.