To my sister, Lori, with love
and to her husband, Graeme Cross,
a "parfit, gentil knight."

With heartfelt gratitude to my boon companions,
Barbara Dawson Smith, Arnette Lamb, Alice Borschart, and Joyce Bell;

and to Richard Curtis, slayer of dragons and doer of good deeds.

Special thanks to John Lloyd-Evans, Bob Beck, and Charles B. Sanders of the Kinkaid School, Pat Jones of the Houston Public Library, and to Alice Shields for her proofreading skills.