The Murdock Muse

November & December, 2002
Muse editors: Bob and Nancy Murdock, Baltimore, MD.
Email: murmuse@erols.com.

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
*IT'S A BOY! (Sean Howlett) Click
*UPDATE FROM BARRE (Art Murdock) Click
*MIDTERM GRADES (Khendra Murdock) Click
*BIG NEWS! (Sally Bacon) Click
*NO GOOD DEED MUST GO UNPUNISHED (Meri Murdock) Click
*MY DADDY STILL CRIES AT NIGHT (Dan Leskinen, Inspired by Annabelle) Click
*UPATE FROM JOPLIN, MO (Roy Murdock) Click
*NICE WEEKEND IN WHITTIER (Meri Murdock) Click
*HELLO FROM IDAHO (Lori Turner) Click
*DISABLED IN CALIFORNIA (Claudia Lindsey) Click
*GO ANGELS! (Becky Murdock) Click
*A PEACE TREATY THAT LASTED (Gene Murdock) Click
*PRAYER FOR THE PLANET (Nancy Murdock) Click
Click for part 2
*TRIUMPHEST CAR SHOW REPORT AND PHOTO (Colleen McKay) Click
*WHEN IS THE NEXT POWER OUTAGE? (Daniel Leskinen) Click
*MEMO FOR MUSE READERS (Cathy Howlett) Click
*HOLIDAY PLANS (Gene Murdock) Click
*MUSE-INGS (Margery Aukstikalnis) Click
*NEW EMAIL ADDRESS (Carol Howlett) Click
*CLYDE'S HOSPITAL TRIP (Polly Soberg) Click
*FROM THE HEARTLAND (Darrel Murdock) Click
*MY CHACO CANYON TRIP (Chip Martz) Click

IT'S A BOY!
Sean Howlett

It's a boy!!!! Our wonderful baby has been born. We are now home from the hospital and thank the family members that came or called to help us through this wonderful part of our lives. Our wonderful baby boy is very healthy and both mom and baby are catching up on much needed rest. A brief line by line breakdown of our baby's birth is on another page (see below).

8:19 PM Wednesday September 25th 2002

At this time and date Kris and Sean Howlett welcomed their first child into the world. The baby was a boy, 9 lbs 7 ounces, 21 inches long. The baby is born natural (with some pain medication) and begins to cry right away. Except for a slight bruise on the head from the vacuum assist he is born flawless. Blue eyes and strawberry blond hair. The baby is very active. The baby is named Thomas Lawton Howlett, using names from both the mother and father. Momma and Dada are tired, exhausted, and yet happy that the hard part is over and that the long part is just beginning in the future of their family. They will all go home Friday September 27, 2002 in good health and spirit. In fact baby Tommy helped daddy type this letter while mommy rested. You can't get kids started too early when it comes to computers.

Click here for Sean's dramatic account of Tommy's birth.
Or click here for the picture page.

UPDATE FROM BARRE
Art Murdock

Oct. 12 - Lorraine and I are doing very well. She is enjoying retirement and having lots of time to spend with the grandchildren. Also, after years of admiring the work of two talented sisters-in-law, she has decided to take up quilting. (feel free to pass along any encouraging words)

I am thoroughly enjoying my newest job and all its challenges. More about that later. As for my hobbies, I am gathering a great collection of woodworking tools which I hope to put to good use as I near retirement. My "power toys" are collecting lots of dust right now but there are hours of dreams beneath.

Kimberly is still living in the Bridgewater MA area and doing very well. She recently received a boost in confidence from her employer, Sager Electronics. While many others in her department have faced the wrath of the economy and sent to the unemployment lines, she was awarded a very substantial raise.

She seems to find new things every month to make this Dad very proud. Her hobbies are no exception. This past summer she participated in a bike ride for Aids which I thought was quite extraordinary. That was a 300 + mile trek from Bear Mountain New York to the Boston Common ! A month later she joined thousands of other runners in the annual 10 K race at Falmouth on Cape Cod. I can't begin to express the feeling of pride that came over me on those two finish lines.

The word around our home this season is "fitness." Lorraine has been attending daily workouts at the local Curves for women, and I have joined a health club in Holden. We both enjoy the workouts and are sure they will pay great dividends.

MIDTERM GRADES
Khendra Murdock

Just wanted to drop a few lines about how I'm doing in college. It's great! All of the classes have been enjoyable, and I like all of my instructors. I just got the last of my midterm grades on Thursday (Oct. 24). Of my four classes this semester, I have three A's, and one B. I have A's in Art History, Math, and Psychology. For my major (Psych), I have the highest grade in the entire class. The B was for Honors English, which is my favorite class (along with Psych), and the most challenging.

Click here to view Khendra's impressive website.

BIG NEWS!
Sally Bacon

Meghan Marie Whalen, daughter of Rebecca and Keith and sister of Samantha, was born on October 15, 2002. She weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces and was 18.5 inches long. She is a little beauty!

Click here to see Meghan and her family.

NO GOOD DEED MUST GO UNPUNISHED
Meri Murdock
:(This is a letter I sent to a local talk show host.)
Dr. Laura:

Yesterday I rode the local dial-a-ride home from work, and we had to make a stop at a store to pick up another passenger. When we arrived, the woman waiting for the ride, a senior citizen, started toward the bus and stumbled, falling face first onto the pavement. She didn't move. The driver just sat, staring at her, and no one else was around, so I hopped out to check on her. She was shaking badly, but managed to hold on to me and get to her feet. After she got a napkin from her purse to hold to her bleeding chin, I asked her what she wanted to do, and she told me she wanted to go home, so I helped her onto the bus.

The driver never asked how she was, just said he needed her fare. By then he had finally called the dispatcher, who wanted to know if she was still riding. Another passenger on the bus asked the driver why he didn't help the woman, and he said "liability."

Then, after the driver pulled onto the main street, he informed me that I was very wrong to leave the bus (which is supposed to stay at a stop for 3 minutes, anyway, if the passenger has not yet boarded). He told me that he should have charged me another fare for re-boarding, and that they charged a woman for helping her mother off the bus recently. He said he was doing me a favor, and any other driver would have charged me. I replied that if he tried to charge me, that would not be the end of it.

By the way, the driver is himself a senior.

What kind of society do we have?

Meredith Murdock, a disillusioned 36-year-old woman.

MY DADDY STILL CRIES AT NIGHT
Dan Leskinen, inspired by Annabelle

(I wrote this story as one way to deal with the traumatic event that I experienced. I wrote it as if my daughter Annabelle was telling the story.)

Over a year ago some bad people took some airplanes and crashed them into the twin towers in New York City. My daddy came home from work early that day. He was very sad. He went upstairs and packed all his military clothes. My daddy is a Master Sergeant in the Air National Guard. A few days later the President called him and told him to report to his other work in Syracuse, NY. My Uncle Terry drove him up to Syracuse. Uncle Terry is very nice.

My daddy called me on my 5th birthday while he was in New York City. He told me he had an important job fixing buildings on an island so that Army people had a place to eat and sleep. I had pizza that night for my birthday dinner. He said he had been to Ground Zero every day. My daddy sounded very sad. I think he was crying. I missed my daddy very much. My daddy called me a few more times while he was there. He worked long hours and got little rest. He sounded very tired. I wanted my daddy to come home so that he could sleep.

Then mommy took me to the train station and daddy was there. I was very happy to see daddy. He gave me a big hug and lots of kisses. He gave mommy a kiss and a hug then got into the car. On the drive home, I asked my daddy what happened to all the people that died in the building. My daddy turned gray and said that some were carried out and in ambulances, others were turned to dust and sent to heaven. I didn't ask my daddy any more questions. I let him talk to mommy the rest of the way home.

Every night, I would wake up in the night to get a drink of water. I would hear my daddy crying. I would sneak into his room, kiss him on the cheek and rub his arm until he went back to sleep. After a week my daddy stopped crying. I know this because his eyes weren't red in the morning. About every month or so I wake up and hear my daddy crying, but not too often. My 6th birthday is coming soon and I heard my daddy crying last night. He told me he would be done with the Air National Guard next year. I am very happy that he can share my birthday pizza with me.

UPDATE FROM JOPLIN, MO
Roy Murdock

Sept. 11-- Everything is going well here on the home front. Khendra is really enjoying college. Work is going well for me, and Tami is enjoying taking Khendra to school and being the administrator of a large basketball discussion site on the net.

Saw photographs of Dad and Mom at someone's wedding reception or something. I think the link was in the latest Muse. I saved the pics to my hard drive. Mom still looks young and Dad has lost some weight.

NICE WEEKEND IN WHITTIER
Meri Murdock

Sept. 22-- I sure am having a nice weekend. NaTT was here last night downloading music and chatting with friends, and Tim was over for a while today, playing the Sims with me (a great game I downloaded for free). I just got back from Margaret Gibson's, where I had a fun time watching Miss America. They sure made a lot of changes this year! Tomorrow night I'm going over to watch the Emmys.

The owners came over to sign a new Lease Agreement and inspect the place before I found a home for my third cat, Charlie. Magic hid up on top of a bookcase (with a 2-inch ledge), and everything passed inspection with flying colors. The cats are all giving themselves baths, which means I need to sign off and go to bed.

HELLO FROM IDAHO
Lori Turner

Oct. 18 - I'm back in Idaho, working hard to get my house sold. I have a Toyota Camry now. My Dad drove the car to me from California. My Grandma, who is 88 and can't drive any more, gave me her car as a gift. This awesome gift came at a perfect time. It is 1991 with only 70,000 miles on it and totally paid for. I sold my 1994 Toyota 4 runner (which I loved), so now I don't have any car payment.

Darrel has helped me so much with everything, all the knowledge and information he has instilled in me, and now I am going to pass that on to others that need my help. I am quitting my second job and am going to volunteer my time at one of our hospitals in town. I am so excited to do that because it will be so rewarding to me.

On October 10th my son left for Bahrain, which is in the middle of the Gulf. He is a Navy Seal and is stationed on the USSR Abraham Lincoln. He is supposed to be in the Gulf for at least 6 months and then his ship is supposed to return to their home port in Everett, WA. He has been gone over a week now and I have not heard from him. I don't know if he will have email but when he can he will contact me. And it will be good to hear from him because we parents worry when our kids are in a place like that.

I am just so excited about all things and I feel like such a new person and I love it. My real estate agent has put a bonus on my house and that is getting calls. Once my house sells, I am so looking forward to going back to MN, and I am going to go to Nursing School. I have always wanted to be an RN and Darrel said I would be a good one. I am going to find a job there and also pursue my dream of becoming a nurse and helping others.

DISABLED IN CALIFORNIA
Claudia Lindsey

Oct. 20 - I am sitting here writing this with my foot in a cast and propped up on a stool. I broke it at the end of August and didn't go to the doctor till 3 weeks later, as I thought it was only a bad bruise and sprain. But when it didn't feel any better I finally broke down and went. I have to keep the cast on for at least another 3 weeks. Ugh!! At least it is one of those boot casts where I can take it off to sleep at night and to bathe.

GO ANGELS!
Becky Murdock

Oct. 16 - We are getting ready for the world series here. "GO ANGELS"!!!!

I have to pass Edison Field every day for work, and it had become a freeway nightmare when the play-offs were going on. Luckily, the first game is on Saturday this time, so I will miss a lot of that. I was hoping that St. Louis would be in it, but oh well. I guess I will have to put up with seeing Barry Bonds on the camera every 5 minutes, (do the Giants have any other players? If they do they never show them).
We are getting geared up for Halloween here at work and at home, I love this time of the year.

[Ed. note: We suspected the Angels had won the series when we got this Email from Meredith:]

Subject: Angels - Date: Oct. 27 - Message: EEEEEEEE!!!!! :

A PEACE TREATY THAT LASTED
Gene Murdock

I was born on January 6, 1932 into a family that already had three children, a condition made more difficult by the fact that my sister Lenore had been born just one year and sixteen days earlier. Lenore, or Len or Lenny, as we called her, chose to be called Lennie in later years so I will use that term. Lennie, herself, was born just a little over a year after her older sister. Apparently my folks learned a lesson from that because a restful break of six years took pace before the next child after me came along.

Having a sister that close in age can be trying. Twins have a bond that can transcend the problems of sibling competition but we were just in each other's way all day. Oh, we actually got along just fine by most standards, but we were quite different in personality so at times the sparks really flew as we chased each other around the house and yard.

Fortunately we both had a good sense of humor and saw the folly of fighting and decided to do something about it by drawing up a peace treaty. There is no date on the document, but I imagine it was written around 1946 when we were young teens. The references to things like squirt guns, kicking in the kitchen door and tipping over the hammock were about actual events that occurred as the result of our shenanigans.

The typewritten and signed document reads:

PEACE TREATY

We, Eugene A. Murdock and Lenore C. Murdock do hereby resolve to respect each other more fully and only quarrel three and one half times a day. We will not squirt each other with squirt guns, kick in the kitchen door, tip the hammock over into the flower garden, or tattle on each other. We will try, once in a while, to praise each other, and not make sarcastic remarks more than sixty-two times a day. (But we will always remember that he who laughs last laughs best.)

We will put in a good word for each other when talking to friends, especially if the friends happen to be of the opposite sex.

On April Fool's Day or Halloween, we may break any of these agreements that we wish, provided we do not kill each other.

Lenore C. Murdock - (signed)
Eugene A. Murdock - (signed)
Either the treaty worked or we just plain grew up a bit because Lennie and I never got into any fights or arguments after that treaty was signed.

PRAYER FOR THE PLANET
Nancy Murdock

I wrote this prayer as part of the service at our church on the anniversary of 9/11.

Leader: Oh God, no matter what name we give you, you are Lord over all the inhabitants of the Earth. It is you who made the entire universe with all its many planets and suns. With our limited understanding, we do not know whether you created life on any other planet, but we do know that we have not yet found life anywhere except on planet Earth.

Response: Help us, Lord, to take care of this gift.

Leader: It was you who gave life to us, and you made us in your own image. You made us and all the other inhabitants of the Earth. Then you placed us in charge, Lord. You appointed us as stewards of all the animals and plants on the earth, all the bodies of water, all the soil, and all the clean air. Help us, Lord, to take care of this planet with all its many species. Help us remember that this is a small planet with limited resources, Lord. And help us not waste these resources in devastating the planet through war, terrorism, or greed.

Response: Help us, Lord, to take care of this gift.

Leader: Lord, we know that we have much to answer for, in the way we consume water and non-renewable resources, such as oil. We do not maintain adequate tracts of land for other species. We cut down the forests that keep our planet moist and comfortable. We do not disperse the riches of this planet evenly to all people. Teach us, Lord, how to be good stewards of the Earth.

Response: Help us, Lord, to take care of this gift.

Leader: We do not solve enough of our problems peacefully, Lord. We need an extra measure of your wisdom and love to pass on to our future generations, so the Earth can continue to flourish. We ask your help to avoid nuclear war, biological war, and other types of wars, which we know will have a negative effect on the whole planet.

Response: Help us, Lord, to take care of this gift.

Leader: Lord, you have never failed us, your people. Guide us, we pray, to listen to your words more carefully, to communicate with others in peace, to love you more faithfully, and to follow you more closely, every day that you give us.

Response: Help us, Lord, to take care of this gift. Amen.

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