Spanish views from a small town

I've seen them today, ready to pounce on the unwary tourist. They were carrying sprigs of rosemary in their hands, wearing flouncy, long skirts, their shiny long black hair pulled back into buns, their swarthy skin even darker from the summer sun. They were Spanish gypsy women, ready to divest a tourist of fifty euros for "reading" their palms. Yes, they exist. Or, rather, they propagate a myth from the past for their benefit. Most gypsies nowadays live from selling clothing and other things in the weekly markets, others from finding junk to sell to the junk dealer, a numbered few from drugs and even fewer from continuing the myth of being able to see the future. These women travel in small groups, waylaying people to see if one will fall. Generally, they do fall, but mostly foreigners. The gypsy will come up to you, holding out a sprig of rosemary, pressing you to accept it. They claim it will bring you luck because it has been blessed by a gypsy witch. If you accept i...