The Murdock Muse

July and August, 2002
Muse editors: Bob and Nancy Murdock, Baltimore, MD.
Email: murmuse@erols.com.

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
*ANNOUNCING CAMI'S BIRTH (Chip Martz)
*BONJOUR (Colleen McKay)
*COLLEGE UPDATE (Christel M. Murdock)
*HOWLETT REUNION WEST UPDATE (Claudia Lindsey)
*LET'S GO TO WASHINGTON (Nancy Murdock)
*A QUIET ANNIVERSARY (Polly Soberg)
*ENOUGH BAD LUCK FOR THE YEAR (Marge Aukstikalnis)
*WEIGHT LOSS CONTEST (Dotty Salminen)
*SAVING SHAKESPEARE (Nancy Murdock)
*MOVERS AND SHAKERS (Orrel and Charlie Frost)
*FATHER'S DAY CELEBRATION (Ian Murdock)
*MY NEW JOB IN MINNESOTA (Lori Turner)
*OUR 51st ANNIVERSARY (Orrel Frost)
*AROUND THE NET (Bob and Nancy Murdock)
*DAYS OF YORE - BELLE'S BUTTON BOX (Gene Murdock) - Click
- - - - MUSE PART 2 - - - -Click
*AN INAUSPICIOUS START (Nancy Murdock)
*MARRIAGE CELEBRATION AND SNOW (Bob Murdock)
*SKI RESORT IN MAY (Nancy Murdock)
*TWO BUSY DAYS (Nancy Murdock)
*MURDOCKS GATHER IN HUBBARDSTON (Bob Murdock)
*A MEMORABLE CHARLTON GATHERING (Bob Murdock)
*TWO REUNIONS (Nancy Murdock)
*MORE VISITS (Nancy Murdock)
*PHOTOS (Nancy Murdock)
- - - - MUSE PART 3 - - - -Click
*DODGER PIE (Meri Murdock)
*SNIPPETS (Bob Murdock)
*TRACING THE GREATS (Charles Frost)
*AND THE WINNERS ARE... (Nancy Murdock)

ANNOUNCING CAMI'S BIRTH
Chip Martz

This is to notify the Murdock Muse that our daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Cambyses Movfagian, have presented us with our first grandchild, Camille Rose, already nicknamed Cami. She was born June 3 in Fontana California, and weighed 7 lbs. and 2 oz. Both Cami and Jenny are doing fine. Grandma Rose and Grandpa Chip are able to visit and have "holding the baby time" two or three times a week. For those of you who have loads of grandchildren, I know this is not a big deal. But, for us, this is a really cool experience.

Also, we are sorry to say that we will not be able to attend the West Coast Reunion planned for August 10. Rose's brother's oldest son will be getting married on that very day in Virginia. At first, we did not think that we would go, but Rose's brother is in his 70s and has been having serious heart problems. So, we decided to go to the wedding in part because this may be the last time we will have the chance to see him. We wish your trip to California will be a great one, and hope to see you in the near future.

BONJOUR
Colleen McKay

I am sending this from the Air France Concorde Lounge in Paris. The flight over was smooth and I got to sit in the flight chair behind the captain in the cockpit at 56,100 ft while he took my photo. I was shocked it was allowed. After the cockpit door is modified it won't be allowed. I hope I can get another photo on the way back.

Paris was wonderful. I saw lots and walked up lots of stairs.

COLLEGE UPDATE
Christel M. Murdock

June 11, 2002
Just a quick little update as per my usual. I just got back from a two-week trip to Europe, during which my friends Amber & Tiffany, and I visited Amsterdam, London and Dublin. It was fabulous, but we had some plane problems on the way back and missed our flight because our first flight was late, so we had to stay in New York for the night, which wasn't too bad, but we sure were tired when we finally got home. I found out my grades while I was on the trip. They weren't too bad.

Principles of Public Relations A
Writing for Public Relations A-
Desktop Publishing A-
Journalism A-
Internet Communications A-
Shakespeare's Comedies and Tragedies PASS

This gives me a 3.76 GPA for the semester and only 3.767 altogether. I still have a good chance of graduating Cum Laude or even Magna Cum Laude.

The summer class I was supposed to take at the community college was canceled, so I'm going to try to crash a summer class at San Diego State University. I feel confident that I will get the class, but I'm not getting my hopes up. My backup plan is to take it at Chapman, but I was hoping to take fewer units so that I could get an internship and/or a job.

So far, that's pretty much it. I hope to have another update sometime soon. I will be getting my new on-campus apartment Thursday, so that will be lots of fun.

June 19, 2002
Hey everybody, this is Christie, Christel, Teli, or one of many other names you'd know me as. I'm giving you almost a year's notice that I will most likely be graduating on May 17, 2003. I have not been notified of the time and my graduation depends on passing the Graduate Comprehensive Exam at Chapman and fulfilling my major and other graduation requirements, which doesn't look as though it will be difficult. Please make a preliminary mark on your calendars or make a note somewhere you won't miss it. I'd love to see all of you there if you can make it.

HOWLETT REUNION WEST UPDATE
Claudia Lindsey

Plans for the August 10 reunion are coming along but first am trying to get the house spruced up some. It's coming along, thanks to the help of a couple of friends. They are doing most of the painting and heavy cleaning. We don't have a fancy house (wouldn't want one) but it is comfortable and it is ours. You are allowed to put your feet up on the couch and on the coffee table (without shoes please) and sit back and relax.

We saw Betty & Harold a couple of weeks ago and went out to dinner with them.. They are excited about seeing lots of relatives that they haven't seen in a long time. Alan Howlett called and he won't be able to make it after all. Seems he is going hiking in the mountains with friends and he's 77 yrs. old and does this every year. That's the Howlett genes for you, strong and hardy. [Ed. Note: Betty and Alan are two of Uncle Roger's children. I haven't seen them for about 20 years.--NAM]

Still not sure if my Dad will be coming but hope so.

We are asking that each family bring a dish to share. Desserts are also needed. Hamburgers, Hot Dogs & Veggie Burgers will be supplied by your hosts, along with soft drinks, lemonade, iced tea & coffee. No alcohol will be provided but please feel free to bring beer. Also if you have a folding chair or lawn chair please bring it along as we may not have enough. But there is plenty of grass to sit on.

We do need a head count, so if you are planning on attending, please either phone or e-mail Claudia & Dennis Lindsey, phone 626 966-9538 or e-mail: lindseyd@flash.net, with Subject Line Re: Howlett Reunion so it won't get deleted. Our address is 515 N. Lyall Ave. in West Covina.

If you have any old family mementos or photos that you would like to bring to share that would be great. We do have some surprises in store for everyone to enjoy.

LET'S GO TO WASHINGTON
Nancy Murdock

Part One: We hadn't gone to Washington, DC for at least three years, so we decided to celebrate the fine weather by enjoying the museums in DC on a Saturday in early June. (This was part of my 70th birthday gift from Bob.) We started off in fine spirits that even the clogged traffic didn't quench. But as bad became worse, we began to look eagerly for a restroom. The service station attendant said they didn't have one, so we reversed and went to the Arboretum - as a temporary measure.

Part Two: We'd never been there before, and Bob fell in love with it. The pamphlet showed that we were past the season for all but day lilies and water lilies, but we found late varieties of azaleas and rhododendrons. As soon as we saw there was something to look at, we bought a single use camera, since I'd left mine at home instead of carrying it in the museums. We found a set of Corinthian style columns that had been rescued from some renovated building. The most interesting sight of all, however, was the lily pond by the administration building, where a watercolor class was painting the water lilies of various varieties. I could feel my fingers twitching to give it a try, but it was pitilessly hot sitting there, so I figured I was ahead by not having my painting materials with me.

We had no lunch with us and weren't in a good restaurant area, so we bought ice cream and big chocolate chip cookies from the cute wagon. Bob, of course, took copious notes while I used up the camera. They had the biggest crepe myrtle trees we've ever seen. Next time we'll pack a lunch and take the car tour to see the remaining acres.

Part Three: Two weeks later we toyed with the idea of DC again, but Bob turned pale at the thought. So we went to Rockville, MD, where there were several places that lured us. On the Internet Bob had found a genuine all-vegetarian Chinese restaurant, The Vegetable Garden. We enjoyed the leftovers for two more meals, especially the umpteen varieties of mushrooms in Bob's dish. Our next stop was the focus of the trip, Pearl Art Supplies, where I stocked up on fabric paints and dyes. Stop 3 was G Street Fabrics, where I bought some pale pink "illusion" net for an art quilt. Then we treated ourselves to coffee and dessert at La Madeleine's, where it was hard to tear ourselves away from.

Part Four: I haven't yet given up on getting to the museums in DC, but I don't yet have a firm campaign worked out. I'll let you know when it happens.

A QUIET ANNIVERSARY
Polly Soberg

We had a quiet anniversary just hanging out at home. That day was beautiful and I had taken the day off hoping we might go over to Maine. Well, I hadn't mentioned it ahead of time so we just enjoyed the sunshine right at home. Carl cooked a nice dinner which you would have enjoyed. It was a casserole of spinach, mushrooms, onions, cheeses, sour cream and probably more fattening things I don't want to know about. It was very tasty and filling.

Shannon's fifteenth birthday was the 11th so we went on a little shopping trip on the 12th. She picked out three nice CD's, mostly sound tracks from several movies. (Good choices) Then we went to the mall for clothing. After we shopped she and I went to the 99 for a light dinner then home before 10 pm. I enjoyed spending some time with her.

ENOUGH BAD LUCK FOR THE YEAR
Marge Aukstikalnis

June 3 - Friday I took Jack to the orthopaedic surgeon for evaluation. We left the house about a half hour early, to leave plenty of time for all the insurance paperwork and the possibility of traffic slowdowns. Well, I backed the car up to turn it around in the yard, and there it stalled and refused to go an inch further. We had to shuffle Jack and all his "paraphernalia" into the truck, and we made it just in time for his appointment. On the way home we ran into such severe thundershower activity, we had to pull off the road for about 10 minutes to wait it out. After we got home, it got worse. We got hit by lightning, wiping out power to the barn, garage and greenhouse, and deactivating the fire alarm system.

Dear Jack, with all his pains, has managed to replace the burned out wires and switches, so we are back in power and protection again. But we figure we have had enough bad luck in the past two weeks to carry us through the rest of the year. So we are looking forward to a wonderful summer, fall and winter.

The orthopaedic surgeon will be seeing Jack weekly until the swelling has gone down enough to evaluate the extent of the damage. He has gone from an air splint in the ER to a hard fiber-glass splint. He has to wear it at all times except in the shower. Doc says he really mangled his foot and ankle, and it may take months to heal. Doc has not ruled out full hard cast, yet.

WEIGHT LOSS CONTEST
Dotty Salminen

Some of us here in the northeast quadrant have had sort of a weight loss contest going for the past 2 months. Some did well, others did not but would like to try again. We have a total loss of 54 pounds. Now we will try again. This time for 6 months. June - December. We would like to extend the contest to include all Musers. All they have to do is report to me dsalminen@Net1Plus.com at the beginning of each month what their weight loss or gain has been. Should be fun to see what we can do!

SAVING SHAKESPEARE
Nancy Murdock

When Bob and I were in Williamsburg, VA, in December, Rosalind Revilock-Frost mentioned that she was chairing a committee for the Virginia Shakespeare Festival. The festival was losing ground and well on its way to giving up, because it wasn't attracting the number of participants or attendance it had previously done. So she took on the position of chairperson for the fund-raising committee for the festival. Now we find that Rosalind and Derek were instrumental in coming up with innovative ways to get the festival into the public eye once more, and hopefully into a better financial picture.

Rosalind's committee arranged an Elizabethan feast in October, and a birthday party for William Shakespeare at a theater in April. Rosalind, Derek, and other board members appeared in Elizabethan costume at various locales to pass out information.

Derek came up with promotional materials for early release to get people familiar with the festival. Building on a previous connection with William and Mary College, he put up a website that broadened the base of potential ticket buyers. Thanks to the website, the festival also had more auditions this year by qualified actors.

Thanks to Rosalind's leadership, the festival performances on July 11 will be sponsored by Ukrops, a large Williamsburg supermarket. And a gift shop will be selling items related to Shakespeare and the Elizabethan era, with the festival receiving the profits.

We get the impression that Rosalind and Derek are thoroughly enjoying this endeavor. A recent, lengthy newspaper article praised their work and gave the festival a good boost. Success is sweet!

MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Orrel and Charlie Frost

May 8 - Charlie stayed overnight with his niece and her husband after attending granddaughter Jeremy's ballet Friday evening performance in Hartford. He was still in bed at about 7:15 the next morning, when the house shook. He thought, "Oh, Joe must be working on one of his projects downstairs in the family room." No one said anything about the event at breakfast. Only when listening to the radio while driving home did Charlie realize that we had experienced an earthquake. It registered five point something on the Richter scale. The epicenter was near Plattsburg, New York, and the tremors were felt as far away as Boston.

FATHER'S DAY CELEBRATION
Ian Murdock

June 16 - I was Shanghai'd by two buccaneers who went by the handles "Sean" and "Tim", and taken to a predetermined drop-off site known as Dodger Stadium, where I was forced to watch a grueling ground battle between a uniformed troop of boys in blue and starch white, who had apparently named their team after the stadium, and an uninformed confederation of red-and-gray-festooned rabble called the Hell's Angels or some such garble.

The 'Dodgers' eventually beat the Hell out of the 'Angels' by launching a superior quantity of spherical, skin-wrapped projectiles into the unsuspecting crowd of 52,000+ spectators - despite the red team's attempted disruption of this plan by cleverly striking a Blue named Green in the back with one of the leather balls. This bold gambit backfired, resulting in the exile of the red army's commanding officer by a shadowy entity identified by one bystander as a vampire. That seems unlikely, but could explain the wire muzzle that someone had placed over the dark figure's face.

Meanwhile, latter-day moneylenders took advantage of the grim gathering by hawking all sorts of suspect wares, including a popular item they insisted was "Dodger dog", but which tasted strangely like cow AND pig.

All in all, a spectacle I shall not soon forget.

After I was whisked home from the battlefield, I got calls and gifts from several sources including the rest of the young pirate brood, ye olde spouse and even a faithful servant - er, I mean sister! Unfortunately, I was away watching the wars when Daughter #1 called, but it still counts!

So that was my day; that and the sunburn. Eeyoww!! I hope your day was as much fun, but less painful!

MY NEW JOB IN MINNESOTA
Lori Turner

June 19 - I had a very nice interview at 3M today. He commented on how much experience I have. ( I have 25 years office experience and am pretty much able to run an office.)

They have great benefits and the pay is good. My new job training starts the 2nd week in August unless things change. The man that hired me and I will be in contact via phone or email if he needs me sooner. I hope to leave Idaho the last part of July. - I would like to have a week at least to get settled in before going to work.

The path is set and I am so excited to have a good job to be going to, less then 10 minutes driving distance from Darrel's place.

OUR 51st ANNIVERSARY
Orrel Frost

Our day (June 10) began abruptly at 6:00 AM when the assistant high school principal called. He needed Charlie to substitute for a teacher who had been laid off in a budget cutback. When school was out we drove down to Portsmouth so that I could deliver my church reports. Shortly after returning home we received a distress call from Pamela that she was stranded on the Maine Turnpike in Biddeford with a flat tire. Charlie picked her up about 7:00 PM and had the car towed to Portsmouth.

We actually celebrated our anniversary the day before when we took Jeremy to dinner after her ballet performance. She is dancing in Hartford this summer with a company headed by one of her teachers at the Hartt School of Music. We met Derek before the performance but he had to leave early to travel to Cambridge on business.

AROUND THE NET
Bob and Nancy Murdock

Cathy Howlett, May 14
Read the most recent Muse...a very fine edition! Well, got to go mop up the cellar some more - had a little too much rain a little too fast the last two days, and now my boss isn't the only one living on a lake!

Barb DiStefano, June 3
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - To my big brother (Bob), who took me to Fenway Park, made me fun board games, and was always a fun big brother! I hope you have a wonderfun (new word of mine) day!!!

Maria and Rennie Leary & Kids, May 15
Awesome site. I hope all is great.
All our love and God bless.

Kimberly Murdock, May 15
I'm currently working as an Asset Manager for an electronics distributor. I'll be heading out to Chicago next week for some meetings with one of our big suppliers...and...I'm a little nervous because I'm going with the President and two VP's of my company. I love speaking in front of people...but oh boy, this is pressure!
I noticed in your travel schedule that you'll be visiting the Frosts in NH this month. My best friend and fellow rider is Rebecca Frost. I wonder if there's any relation?

Meredith Murdock, May 9
I will have to read most of the Muse this weekend, but I did read "The Long Goodbye." Sniff. That is a beautiful poem! How did my non-fiction Mom grow a sci-fi heart? I am constantly amazed, although I do remember eating dinner together in front of Buck Rogers!

June 27 - Here's my thought for the day: "The minutiae of life are actually quite intriguing."

Lori Turner, June 10
I am excited as I will be leaving for Minnesota this Thursday, returning on Saturday June 22nd. I will have time to get packed and spend time with my son as he will be going into the Navy on June 21st while I am still in Minnesota. He decided before graduating that he wanted to go into the Navy and do engineering. He scored high on the test and they want him to go to Officer school. Of course it is hard and sad for a mom to watch her kids grow up and leave the nest but the opportunity is so great and he will get the best education.

Roy, Tami, & Khendra Murdock, June 24
We found this site that explains the differences between type #1 and type #2 diabetes. It is short and well done... http://www.jdrf.org/living_w_diabetes/type1facts.php

Ron Murdock, June 27
Another published Murdock! Our Son Walter has two photographs in the Summer 2002 Popular Photography special edition Digital Imaging Guide.
First Gene in The Iowa Horticulturist, and now Walter in Popular Photography.

Teddie Doane, May 30
Mykaela and I were sitting in the car "people-watching" yesterday while we waited for Mom outside WalMart. A very elderly man came out of the store. He was about 90 or so. Very thin and pale. We watched as he shuffled toward his car. I told Mykaela I thought he looked like such a nice man. She agreed. I said, "I just love old people!" She replied, "I do too." She put her head on my shoulder and kind of patted my back as she added, "Especially you, Grandma!"

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