Terry attempts to shame us by submitting his abandoned novel a day after the deadline.

A Noble Heart

THIS being the prurient attempt to chronicle the LIFE OF A MAN who stands above all for TRUE LOVE in its purest form, which is so rarely observed today, and in his search for the WOMAN who will fulfill his dreams of a marriage of TWO SOULS so in LOVE that even though they may engage in some of the more SALACIOUS ACTS of human behavior their love remains commensurate to the PISTINE ACTS of two virginal individuals.

Introduction

In which the Author appeals to the Reader for empathic consideration of his writing style.

In attempting to capture the true nature of our subject, the Author can only rely on his own observations and thus begins the slide into the inscrutable behavior of all men, of which the author has indulged all too much, and the predicament of trying to sort out the feelings and actions of one man who stands so far above others. Yes our subject is of human embodiment with the bulging torso muscles, the sculptured yet elegant stomach, the legs of such sinew like that of an athlete and in between those manly parts which can only be described as magnificent. Oh Dear Reader if you were to gaze upon the form of which I speak your thoughts may indeed go in the same direction, yet this is not what the Reader is to dwell upon if he is to gain the veracious impression that the Author intends to reveal. No it is the soul and the beauty that lies within that must be focused upon if this story is to capture the essence of its purpose.

But surely the Reader can see the botheration that enters into the mind as mere words do not do justice to what is in the heart, but can so well describe the outer attributes which were formerly mentioned. But it is that heart, which beats in that august chest, on which we must focus, and not let our gaze fall slowly to the other more salient parts of the anatomy. The Author will endeavor to use the most accurate words that he can to portray this most genuine love but do not be disturbed by the occasional foray into the more physical attributes as one is wont to do. Words by their very nature are mere tools and much better for describing the tangible world around us which our senses perceive. Those other-worldly qualities of which we can sometimes only hint must be sensed by you the Reader through the maze of flesh consuming tales in which this Author indulges at times. And with that forewarning let us begin our tale, an adventure in love so great that the sedulous task of telling it may sometimes fail to hit its mark and fall into the more licentious area of passionate affection.

And there you have it, all five Articles.

For your convenience:

• Article I: Name and Purpose
• Article II: Membership
• Article III: Meetings
• Article IV: Officers
• Article V: Amendments

We will need to have everything discussed and settled by Tuesday so I can get the thing engrossed and printed on Wednesday. (There is a large-format printer at school involved.)

Discuss.

ARTICLE V

Section 1, This Charter may be amended when necessary through general Agreement of those Members participating in the Discussion.

Section 1, There shall be three officers, consisting of a Chair, a Secretary, and an Aphorist.

• The Chair shall call the Annual Meeting and preside over it. He shall also appoint Vice-Chairs as necessary for any Special Meetings.
• The Secretary shall record the Proceedings of the Annual Meeting in the Record Book. He shall also handle any Correspondence and Finances that are necessary.
• The Aphorist will use his knowledge of the writings of Georg Christoph Lichtenberg to engage the Membership in an Understanding of Life.

Section 2, Officers shall be appointed by acclamation at the Annual Meeting. The term of office shall be until the next Annual Meeting, the date of which shall be determined at the prior Annual Meeting.

Section 3, If an Officer is unable to complete his Term of Office, he shall ask the Membership to replace him pro tempore via the usual incorporeal Communication.

updated Section 2, 12/17/07, by CM Dale Lyles, to reflect CM Jeff Bishop’s obsessive insistence that terms of office be delineated, and to allay his insistence on other items of even less interest or consequence to Lichtenbergianism and its adherents.

The first Annual Meeting (also known as the Charter Meeting) of The Lichtenbergian Society will be Saturday, December 22, 2007, at my house, 7:00ish.

Bring whatever you think might contribute to the general air of solemn FESTIVITY, as dictated by the Charter.

The proposed Order of Business:

• Roll Call (for the Record, and yes, I bought a record book and india ink today)
• Ratification and signing of the Charter
• Toast to GCL (need a volunteer)
• Acclamation of the Officers
• Corroboration of the Validity of our Claims
• Consignment of the Corroborative Evidence to the Flames
• Engrossment of the Year’s Efforts
• Meditation on the Year’s Efforts, followed by a Silent Toast
• Engrossment of the Proposed Efforts for the Next Year
• Toast to the Proposed Efforts
• “What is Art?”

So, besides food and drink, plan to bring a list of the creative endeavors you either abandoned or tabled this year, as well as a list of your goals for 2008. I’m thinking we’ll just start this year with a list of our Efforts, each of us gets a page to himself, and then for next year’s Proposed Efforts, we’ll start a new page on which we’ll tally the results at next year’s Annual Meeting.

Also, if you have some Corroborative Evidence of creative effort that perhaps should have been abandoned rather than being brought to fruition, feel free to bring it along. I have a wonderful example, and it’s not what some of you are thinking, so we’re covered for that part of the Meeting.

Discuss.

12/16/07, inserted Appointment of Officers

12/16/07, inserted the Corroboration portions, plus the perennial discussion topic, “What Is Art?”

Google Lichtenbergian. Just do it.

ARTICLE III

Section 1, Regular meetings of the SOCIETY shall be through its regular incorporeal Correspondence, whenever such topics as engage the interest of its Members shall arise.

Section 2, The Annual Meeting of the SOCIETY shall take place on or before the day of the Hibernal Solstice. It shall be an occasion of solemn FESTIVITY, allowing the Members the opportunity to reflect on the State of Lichtenbergianism.

Section 3, Special Meetings may be proposed any Member for any occasion.

Section 4, Notice of any Meetings shall be by the SOCIETY’s accustomed incorporeal Correspondence.

Discuss.

• Section 2 amended 12/15/07 to include “the day of,” since technically this year, the actual Solstice is at 1:08 a.m. Saturday morning; we would have been in violation of the Charter from the get-go.