King William IV of England wrote this memorandum concerning the prospect of national prosperity to his newly-installed government in November 1830:

In order to attain this desirable end, the King deems it very essential that endeavours should be made to prevail upon the Members of the Two Great and Influential Parties in the Country to lay aside the feelings which have so long produced a Spirit of Political Hostility between them … and to unite in the Service of the State those of both Parties whose general character, abilities, experience and Patriotism would offer to the Country the happy prospect of a Government founded upon a secure and permanent Basis.”

 Her black eyes bore a rich crystal-like lucidity.  She would bathe in the sun with sensuous abandon for hours, with fur engulfed and aglow with its rays.  And, ever sensitive to spiritual presence, the lady would fervently purr on my lap while we prayed.

You will have noticed my accentuation of adjectival and adverbial usage in reference to Lucy, my lovely little feline, an accentuation applied if for no other reason than the fact that I gladly served as steward of her welfare as God gave her breath. 

Lucy was born on July 10, 2002 and was put to sleep on January 12, 2012.  She didn’t quite make it to ten, but the nine-and-one-half years were well invested in ways that only a cat knows how to live.  And she was, if nothing more, a delight to me.

  We took the lovely little kiddo on a horse-and-buggy ride.  She was enchanted and her grand-mother and I were also charmed.  Amber’s pleasure was foremost in mind but, finding myself challenged and feeling pedantic, I extracted a point of principle.

Our driver was a fine young man, just up from the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia where he worked with Clydesdale horses.  He was personable, engaging and quite honest concerning what he did not yet know. 

We were quite satisfied, though I struggled on one very important count:  I knew a great deal more than did our affable host and very much wanted to share what I knew.  To speak or not to speak became the pressing dilemma of my existential conundrum.