%$(*&#@.  Thanks to all who pointed out that ANSI C allows
-> char *foo = "xxx"; <- to put strings in read-only memory.  I've
spent too long being away from my C compiler to remember all those
little details that I used to live and breathe by 8-(  Anyway,
changing * to [] fixed it right up, and I should have seen it when
I saw the address of the string in GDB.  Now back to the regularly
scheduled discussions that may actually be productive...  (One of
these days, I'll get burned by these simple answers that I'll keep
my mouth shut, knowing that it's something simple, even if I can't
find it...)

Jon