Lord of the 99

Once upon a true story, my parents went to the temple two hours away from our home.  The sad tale started much like any other:  there were some goodbyes, some hugs, and kisses.  However, as the wheels of my parent’s car turned out of the driveway, the glint in my sister’s eye made my blood turn cold.  It was as if a switch had been flipped in her mind.   Gone were the warm smiles, gone were the sweet promises to be nice, and appeared the horrifying terror of the abyss. 

I don’t remember everything we did, either because of convenience or faulty memory, but I do remember that my brothers and I tried to have fun in a rather disorganized way.  However, to put a stop to all that my sweet eldest sister began to exercise dominion.  She would order us to stop, herd us into the rooms that she deemed appropriate for us to play in and if we did not comply there were consequences.  So fierce and terrible were these consequences that we began to question the legitimacy of her claim to authority.  Surely, Mother and Father did not mean THIS when they said, “keep them out of trouble.” 

As so, my brother with more backbone, or perhaps simply a shorter temper, began to challenge her. Sadly for him, and by extension us, ‘justice’ was swift.  It appeared to be a lesson for the rest of us; that if anyone else dared to oppose our new figure of authority, they would be treated likewise.  Our Lord of the 99 ruled without question.  For those of you who have not experienced the horror of the ‘99’ I say unto you, “count your lucky stars!”  It is a technique of urban suppression that is akin to water boarding.  I learned that day that authority is sometimes taken, sometimes given, and sometimes surrendered.  But that all authority should be maintained by the willful consent of the people.  God bless America!