"As friend to many if as lover not to any in particular"

The Joys of Being Reasonable for Ray Remalig My mother taught me socially a gentleman ought not to speak Of politics nor of religion out of church during the week Either one was nothing but trouble and I was to speak of neither Especially in the company of the tendentious or the pretentious To speak about the any out among the many simply too contentious I found her advice to be sound in strange ways through strange days As it stood me in good stead when instead of straight ahead the days went Stranger then the strangest days stood me on my head and proved how it pays To be courteous and clever not upstage nor ever step on anybody's line Finding she was right and minding what of my own business there might be I like to think that I am everybody's and that they as well are mine As friend to many if as lover not to any in particular I make my friends feel good about themselves and that feels good to me Patricia Lance my mother was a lady who knew how For me to be a gentleman and now I think I know what she meant About personal things being personal as a matter of design I tried to live this way if seldom did but daresay turned out almost fine Trying to be graceful and to keep my sense of equipoise amid the noise Of an ungraceful and ungracious rather grating time I celebrate the joys Of being reasonable after all as fall turns into winter and I enter now Remembering how my mother was and not forgetting I am her somehow My mother taught me socially a gentleman ought not to speak Of politics nor of religion out of church during the week Either one was nothing but trouble and I was to speak of neither Especially in the company of the tendentious or the pretentious To speak of the any out among the many simply too contentious She said Lances do not stoop to speaking of finances either though we do But having none to speak of anyway I speak of neither nor that too +Steven Curtis Lance Copyright MMX