I believe the truth of whether or not our words ever dignified or corrected any lifestyles in any claimed reality is usually left for only us to perceive, and then speculate about. But I also believe that most times those speculations are only our own; born in our own minds, and pondered there, yet, not often communicated to other mortals. Nevertheless, that’s not the case today. That’s not the case with what will follow now.

My name is Larry Winslow, and up until a few weeks ago I was what society’s constrictive code of acceptances refers to as a “normal guy.” But then, at the invitation of Ralph Hawk, who was at that time, unbeknownst to me, serving his last days as mayor of this city, I relocated here to “the city.”

And I had previously learned that Mayor Hawk had been actively recruiting what he determined to be artistic type individuals to resettle here. Therefore I came here, and was warmly greeted by the mayor and several of his friends. But I was dismayed to learn that the man who’d sought my relocation here would himself soon be relocating away from here; and I informed him of that fact. “Oh, you’ll be fine here,” he answered. “My friends and associates will help you become acclimated here, and I’d guess that my successor as mayor will assist you also,” he said.

And he was right! I was aided by many here in my new hometown. They helped me settle in to a nice apartment on the north side of this city’s river, and told me how I could (and should) become a part of the “artistic enclave” of newer residents who had moved here to this locality in the last few years. But, they also cautioned me that unbelievable and unexplainable events could, and already many times had occurred here. And when they gave me that warning, they weren’t lying! What follows now actually happened to me after I’d been here exactly one week. And I know it will be difficult for you to believe this, nonetheless I lived it, thus I know it’s true .

Some sort of image appeared to me on the day I’d been here a week. And it said “Come with me. I’m a phantom, but I prefer to be addressed as a lord and a protector of the palace at Versailles.”

And I decided to leave with the apparition, but then suddenly found myself staring at a golden brightness! And I knew it wasn’t the brightness of a summer long passed, yet I wished it were. And then some sort of transport device arrived, and the lord and I boarded it and were gone!

And after a brief journey we disembarked where a generation once believed itself to be substantially different from all those that had preceded it, when actually it was only slightly so. And we were back in time at a point where the liberal mindset once served a purpose for goodness as it clashed with that one conservative; that clash then producing a productive give and take which then in turn served a great nation well. Yet, we remained there for only fleeting moments, and then returned to where a modern day left wing viewpoint seeks the domination of all races and economic classes, and also the removal from office of a duly elected leader for no reason except the removers’ great thirst for power.

But then the lord of the palace spoke and said “We’re not going back and forth in time today for pleasure only. And we’ll state this unequivocally, ‘No mortal or group of mortals, whether living or deceased, nor any ism, popular today or in the past can constrain us today! Oh no! Today we live in the sunshine and freedom of “The Lords Of The Palace.”’

And then suddenly I found myself walking with my phantom friend down the Hall of Mirrors in the palace at Versailles. Oh, and I could see the morning sun filtering through the glass panels and reflecting off the mirrors! Oh, and suddenly I saw the Sun King – number fourteen of the Louies I believe. And as he and his entourage proceeded forward, they stopped to confront the lord and myself. “Sometimes I find my daily two hour preparation, which prepares me to set about my tasks of governing France to be rather tiresome” said the king.

And then I found myself wanting to warn him about what would befall his second successor, the sixteenth of the Louies, as well as thousands of other French men and French women in the 1790’s, but the lord of the palace sensed this and cautioned me not to do so. Thus, instead of doing that, I reluctantly said my goodbyes, and realized I must soon exit the hall of golden statues, crystal chandeliers, and great mirrors and panes of glass. But I was thankful I’d be gone before the days of Marat and Robespiere. Yes, I was thankful I’d be gone before many heads (and perhaps my own) would be separated from their remaining bodies at the Place de la Revolution.

But now Louis XIV and his entourage have passed us, and have proceeded down the hall. And in their wake the lord of the palace says “ That sight of people you’ll perhaps never see again walking away with backs turned is so starkly significant isn’t it? On these journeys I’ve many times had time travelers tell me of such experiences. They’ve said they’ve often watched friends or lovers whom they knew could have made their lives better simply walk away.”

“Nevertheless, it’s time to leave now Lawrence. Let’s not allow ourselves to be found stopping here eternally for only this! Let’s exit to where we can watch life be lived for merits. And through carefulness, watchfulness, and dedication to principles which have been found worthy, let’s become a part of slow but necessary changes.”

“And, as we leave, let’s promise that we’ll never allow ourselves to be guided by a hatred of the common man such as guides many in your nation’s Congress today; and let’s affirm that we’ll never someday find ourselves boasting in an outer court such as a Pharisee was once so found long ago. And let’s avoid such hatreds and boastings because, ultimately, threats and idle words leave those who were once termed ‘the salt of the earth’ to wonder if those who participate in contempt and self-praise can in honesty look into any mirror and accept as constructive the image looking back at them.”