No, the union was constructed correctly, and there weren't any extraneous semi-colons hangin' around, ANYWHERE. (I thought about that too!)
I've decided to direct the first SELECT to an array, the second to a table, and then append from the array. It works. I don't know why the union, nor the sequential SELECTs to tables didn't work, but I need a solution, not a mystery. I have my solution, so now I can go on my semi-merry way.
Still, if anybody has any insights, I'd appreciate hearing them.
Thanks,
John
"It came to pass"