#976 – Anne Dunn: Arresting the Alphabet

PRE-NOTE: Anne is a frequent and welcome visitor to this space. For others from Anne Dunn, please note her category at right.
It happened not so long ago at the castle in the kingdom of Nosidam that peasants gathered to protest the banning of drums from public ceremonies in the civil commons.
Naturally everyone brought a drum and some of the protestors held up large signs upon which were painted tall bold black letters. Assembled together the letters spelled: LIBERATE THE DRUM.
Quickly troopers stormed in and arrested RILE.
What remained was BEAT THE DRUM. And so they did.
After seven victorious minutes the crowd was satisfied that the drum had spoken and so, with shouts of triumph, they returned to their modest homes.
But when the ruler of Nosidam forbid the indigenous population to net fish for subsistence, the commons swelled with discord. Once more the drummers arrived and the protestors carried letters that read: WE FISH TO LIVE.
The first eight letters were assaulted and arrested. The remaining word quickly reversed itself into EVIL. This described the decree and defined the king.
Then the king went after the land, mineral rights and real estate. The brutal agents of the king forcibly removed many families from their homes.
Soon the commons filled with the homeless. Once again the drum called and signs arrived. The signs read: THIS LAND IS OUR HOME.
Twelve letters were immediately arrested and the remaining five quickly scrambled to spell SHAME.
But the king was not embarrassed for he was convinced that his will was the supreme law of the land. Therefore, no one had the right to question his decrees.
Recognizing the need for a healthy planet, the people gathered to protest the vicious rape of Mother Earth. The drummers came and the protestors arrived with their signs: SAVE OUR EARTH ISLAND.
Of course the troops were ready and soon had arrested H-A-V-O.
The remaining letters reassembled into TREASURE ISLAND.
More arrest were made and left TRUE SIN standing in the commons. When four more letters were arrested the new word became NUT and that described the king in a single syllable.
Then the king decided to make war against the wolf and a howl of outrage filled the commons. The drummers and sign painters were ready. The sign read: JUSTICE FOR BROTHER WOLF.
In a heartbeat JUSTICE was swept away. More arrests were made until only FOOL OR FOE remained. These were the perfect nouns to describe the tyrant on the throne.
Then by royal decree the populace was denied jobs with decent pay and reasonable benefits. The commons filled again. Signs were quickly painted to read: WAGE EARNERS NOT SLAVES.
SLAVES was immediately arrested. Then troopers swarmed the signs and began removing letters until only RAGE was left.
Then it was that teachers came under attack and the education system was left in shreds. People crossed the borders into Nosidam to stand with teachers and other school staff.
Signs were prepared that read: CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE.
O-R-U were roughly pulled out of line. Then the letters CULTURE stepped forward to be arrested with R-E. Only HIDE and FEAR were left standing in the commons encircled by the hungry minds of
a future generation.
The king had successively hijacked the civil rights of the people so he decided that law enforcement was no longer worthy of his support. They were dismissed without ceremony or the bonuses promised for their part in the king’s misconduct. The troops were frightened. They feared retaliation. For they had been excessively abusive when they enjoyed the favor of the king.
However, the general population welcomed the former law enforcement officers and took them to the commons to address the betrayal of the treacherous king.
The drummers were there and signs were quickly prepared that read: END THE ABUSE OF POWER.
No one was there to arrest the alphabet that day. So the castle of Nosidam was stormed. But the king escaped the wrath and judgment he deserved and was never seen again.