Unionland

Once upon a time, things were good in the world. So good in fact, that some of the people organized a self-sustained land where a group of people, called the overlords, would watch upon those that inhabited it's land and keep peace and harmony for those who lived there. They called it Unionland. Life, it seemed, to even the simplest of peasants was not difficult nor complicated here. Everyone in Unionland had jobs to keep them busy, food to feed their families, and shoes to keep their feet safe on the jagged rocks in the road. Life was good in Unionland and all was right with the world.

Then, a terrible plague of joblessness swept the grounds of Unionland, striking it's hardest blows upon the lowliest of peasants in the land. Times became tough as the arm of the ever increasing plague gripped harder and harder until all but the wealthiest in the land were feeling the noose tighten. The people, frenzied with worry, became afraid and begged to flee from Unionland in hopes of finding a better life elsewhere. But the evil overlords of Unionland refused to let the peasants flee and kept them there to suffer the fate that they themselves would surely never battle. Most of those that tried to escape the ever growing power of the overlords, were captured and placed in the city square as an example to those that might try the same path. The others...were never heard from again. While the evil overlords laughed in their golden chairs and dined on fine wine and exotic fruits from the outside world, life in Unionland was becoming more bleak by the day for the peasants. Unionland, so it seemed, was corrupt.

Years later, the evil overlords began to become bored with the woes and wailing of the peasants. Lines of poorly dressed and filthy peasants lined the great Unionland hall benches and so the overlords formulated a plan so dastardly, so horrific, so very evil, that even the smartest of the peasants could not suspect their true viciousness. The overlords gave them what they wanted. Jobs began to fill the lives of all the lowly peasants. Hope began to rise among the masses and families began to gain weight again as the simple pleasure of eating was no longer a worry to them. Unionland was saved! Hurrah!

Or was it?

A year passed and all was good. Peasants were no longer worried by the financial burdens that once plagued them. Families put their houses for sale to buy bigger houses as they rode the wave of hope that gained in multitude each day. Bill collectors were slowly driven mad by boredom and the people danced in the street.

And atop their golden tower, the evil overlords sneered at the joy and hope that once again filled the lands. But little did anyone know, that the joy was all part of the overlords cunning plan. Just as quickly as joy returned to Unionland, it was equally quickly pulled away like a rug from beneath an unsuspecting enemy. Jobs during the plague that were once sparse and far between became nonexistant. Work no longer existed and the peasants once again wailed for mercy in the streets.

And the Unionland overlords laughed.

Peasants begged for work. Bill collectors began to wreak havoc in the streets, laughing their evil laughs all the way to the bank. It would sooner be easier to see a tumbleweed grow legs and walk than to see a job available anywhere in the land.

And the Unionland overlords laughed.

Peasants began to once more line the hall benches and wait in the filth of the dirt for a crumb to survive on. Dancing on the streets stopped. Hope was naught but a failing, untouchable light in the far away distance. Life in Unionland was worse than it had ever been.

And the Unionland overlords laughed.

Once more the overlords danced for joy for the suffering they caused to the pathetic peasants of Unionland and all was back to where they'd planned. Order and power, so it seemed, was once again where it should be.

And as for the Unionland overlords? They dined on the exotic fruits from the outside world, knowing it was a better place...and they laughed...forevermore.

Oh. I'm sorry. Were you expecting a happy ending? Ah...well...the moral of the story? Unionland sucks.

The End.

(This story reflects our ups and downs...mostly downs...with the Union that my hubby is in. He's not working right now so this was my way of venting aggression at the Union. :-)