December 29 William Howard b. 1616 d. 1680 beat 1929

Thommy and John

Good morning
I love you

My stomach just growled [12/29/07 at 0744]. That hasn’t happened in a long time. a good sign? [I’m a little more attentive to my stomach in the past couple of months – it’s misshapen; a sit up seems beyond the realm of possibility; and, yesterday, was it blood in my stool? But a growling is, I think, a good sign. Whatever. Tmi?


Bl. William Howard
December 29 b. 1616 d. 1680 beat. 1929

William. A Thomas son. An earl’s son. A man raised a Catholic. [you were raised Catholic until 1994. then you were raised Catholic part of the time, a less and less part of the time, since then.] raised Catholic in an protestant England, even as an earl’s son – very risky business for the boy and his family who in the midst of opposition and persecution, did the right thing. [and you, in your anti catholic environs, how do you do the right thing?]

William Howard seemed to have a normal life – for an earl, the Viscount of Stafford, a Knight of Bath [try Chaucer!]. for a boy raised Catholic in 17thc protestant England. ….

In 1637, William Howard, of the noble Howard family, married Mary Stafford. Ya think she came from a earlish family? 

In 1640, William Howard became Baron Stafford. Family connections? Just an ordinary noble guy!

A Catholic noble guy. And because he was Catholic, he was [falsely] accused of supporting the Popish Plot! Imprisoned for Treason! [ok, digress with me. E.g., the movie the Great Debaters - which I recommend by the way; great people; a touch of our history; a foundational period for the history of my ‘60’s…. why did they lynch that Negro? What did he do?!!! Nothing, they lynch Negros in Texas, they don’t need any other reason…. They arrest Catholics in England, they don’t need any other reason - although a civilized nation such at Great Britain at least makes up a reason, wrapped up in a trial, and delivers the corpse just as dead after being hung, drawn, and quartered! If you’re not prepared to put Catholics in the same predicament as the Negros – well then, you disagree with the KuKluxKlan….]

William Howard did not recant; he did not turn in anyone else; he did not falsely confess to his crimes – after two years in the Tower [not the Hilton Towers….], William Howard was beheaded on Dec. 29, 1680.

May God have mercy on our souls… especially the englishmen’s souls….

I love you
dad