May-June 2003 - Part 2

Murdock Muse May-June 2003 - Part 2

MINNESOTA ROCKS
Darrel Murdock

Hello again from the land of plenty! The weather was outstanding in April, prompting all the multi-colored ornamental shrubs and tulips to their finest. I took advantage of the sunny last two weeks and got some bright snapdragons, pansies and dianthus as soon as they hit the shelves. They will keep the beds aflame until the wave petunias, polka-dots and blue dwarf delphiniums in the greenhouse take over. The raspberry plumes from the Astilbe, bleeding-heart ferns and variegated hosta will be filling the shady areas until they are joined by the red and purple Impatiens. And the strategically located mums and fall asters have begun their long preparation to replace all the above many fireworks later.

In other news, youngest son Nicholaus aka Nic, Rikkey, etc., took long time girlfriend Deanna to be his lawfully wedded wife (pictures to follow). It was a beautiful thing, hearing the emotion in the vows and such.

And my year-long bout with a hamstring and lumbar injury is rapidly approaching oblivion. I have a new space-saver treadmill right in front of CNN, and with the stretches I learned in PT, the accupressure from my friend and the return to an active life-style, I am regenerating the nerves and muscle tish in weeks, not months or years.

Have a Great Spring! AAALynx will gather evidence of yardly colors for the next slideshow online.

PROCRASTINATION
Nancy Murdock
I've had enough time in my seventies
To become good
At putting things off

I've read bags of library books
But not the mail
Sitting in purgatory

Quilts design themselves by dozens
But finished pieces
Are quarterly events

My fitness membership is paid up
But new barbells
Bear no fingerprints

Memoirs are stuck at page seven
An occasional email
Goes out to a friend

A new bread machine is a pleasure
Used once
And never repeated

My wardrobe leaves much to desire
The sale goes by
Coupons expire

Where is activity, passing the test
Not here today
It's taking a rest.

UPCOMING VACATION
Margie Aukstikalnis

We are planning a three day "vacation" at Cape Cod May 6-9. A friend of Jack's has invited us to visit, and he will be taking us to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket for one of the days. We are looking forward to seeing him, as it has been over ten years since our last get-together. We are also going to Cap Pele, New Brunswick for a full week in September. We have rented a cottage on the ocean quite reasonably from our post master and are looking forward to seeing a little of Canada. Jack has promised to take me there since we were married, as he loved being there for his asbestos schooling in Montreal. This will be quite different for him, as well as a new experience for me.

We will cross over to PEI for one day while we are there. Jim and Paula will, again, care for the animals while we are gone. We had theirs again in February while they cruised the Mediterranean. They want us to go on the cruise with them next year, but it's too expensive for us. We do plan to do a little more traveling, though, in the next few years, but only as $$ will allow. We've rejected the idea of raising chickens, to allow us this freedom.

The sun shines, and my greenhouse still needs a little more rearranging to make room for all my seedlings. Jack will be installing electricity out there next week. We ran a long extension cord last year (to run the exhaust fan) but it got hit by lightning and fried our fan. So this year it will be properly installed.

He's making us a lovely retreat out behind the barn, complete with foot bridge across the vernal brook. The dog and cats LOVE it out there, as there are tons (literally) of huge rocks to climb on and hide under. They play together for hours, keeping an eye out for the occasional unsuspecting chipmunk. Eventually, Jack hopes to enhance the brook into a small pool, and capturing the groundwater, make the pool year-round. Just a tiny one, but big enough to house a few goldfish. In this area, that means at least three and one-half feet deep at the center, for winter survival.

Jack's brother, Paul, will be arriving from California on May 2nd. He left home on the 19th, and will, again, golf his way across country. With the price of gasoline, and the age of his truck, he has decided to make a more direct route than usual, stopping for longer periods of time.

Jack's niece, Amy is running in the Boston Marathon today (April 21). She is running injured, because she is afraid she'll never have the chance again to qualify, and doesn't want to miss the experience.

SHORT NOTES
Musers

Polly Soberg, April 7

Eunice, Lois, Brad and one of Eunice's grandson's, Tommy, paid a visit while I was at work today. I guess Tommy and Lois are heading back to California tomorrow. It was nice for Clyde, and Carl enjoyed the chat time too.

Clyde is going to Boston Friday night for a dinner at one of the fancier restaurants. Eunice, Brad, Clyde and some other folks are going. I guess a car will pick him up and bring him back home.

Sarah Bergeron, April 13

I’ve made some changes to my online photo albums so I thought I’d send the link out to everyone again (or maybe for the first time!).
http://www.pbase.com/palesarah
Colleen McKay, March 29

Postcard from Delft, Netherlands:
I climbed the 366 steps of the bell tower of the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church).

Clyde Howlett, May 5

Has been a cold and snowy winter. Sure glad that it is over. Looking forward to planting our garden on the deck.

Leave for Amsterdam June 9th. Then fly to Moscow on the 11th for a day tour of the city. Then fly to St. Petersburg and stay there until the 14th. We will then fly to London and stay there until June 18, when we will return to Bedford NH. Hope to have lots of pictures.

Stephanie Chamberlain, April 29

Thank you so much for your updates. I am leaving my state job and moving to the private sector. Therefore this email is no longer my address. Please know I will contact you regarding how to reach me when I get back online!

JOPLIN NEWS
Roy Murdock

April 18, Roy's 49th birthday:

It's great to be so close to 50. It's a nice round number. :)

Khendra and I have been going to the YMCA about 5 days a week. I'm really getting in shape (bigger muscles and better stamina)!

You asked if there is anything I look forward to accomplishing and the answer is, yes. I plan to get my Master's degree and my Professional Purchasing certification, the CPM (Certified Purchasing Manager). These two things are what I need to get the next level job up from Purchasing Manager, which is Director of Purchasing.

I get a lot of e-mails at my job. In fact, I get a lot more e-mails at this job than the last one, probably because I'm management again and get copied on all important information. Also, I get a lot of e-mails from our Corporate Office. I average 30-40 e-mails a day. Like Mom, I need to address them all before the day is done. Fortunately, most of mine don't require answers.

As for music, I don't play the guitar or piano any more. I exhausted all that trying to make it in the country music business. But I have to say I've certainly made use of my musical backgound. After high school I was in the brass band in New Ulm and spent a lot of time singing and writing songs in Nashville.

I've been thinking about how Bob Hope is 100. I also remember George Burns turning 100. People are living longer today. Ain't it great?

We got two new computers recently and signed up for cable Internet. Now our connection is lightning fast. It's really been wonderful.

Everything is going well here. The quitting smoking has really been good for Tami and me. It's amazing to me that we smoked for so long. Now the curse is finally broken.

FOSTER HOWLETT'S FISHING ARTICLE
Submitted by Jane McCauley

I was going through some old editions of Hubbardston Agriculutralist Magazine and wondered if you had ever read the article on fishing your father wrote in the June 15, 1938 issue. FISHING by Foster Howlett..... So many people living and working in cities would like to take a day off in the summer time and go fishing. Most of them have a vague ideas as to the pond they seek; but once there, do not know the best spots to fish. Others would like to go to a certain town but have not ideas as to the right pond.

Here in Hubbardston we have ideal fishing, thanks, mostly, to our Sporting Club for having had our ponds and brooks stocked. For those people who like to fish, for the real fun of fishing, our Brigham Pond is, perhaps, as good as any in Massachusetts, being stocked with pout, yellow perch, pickerel, blue gills, sunfish, and an occasional large red dace, white perch, or, best of all, fishing after dark in a boat, a nice slippery eel.

On the east side of the pond the town owns an attractive grove, with ample room to park and plenty of places for picnic lunches, free to anyone.

Boats are as scarce as the proverbial "hen's teeth," but by diligent asking and coaxing they are available in small numbers - very small.

With the exception of a few fenced off parcels of land bordering the pond one may fish from the shore on the east side of the pond and a few places on the west side without asking permission of anyone.

MUSE READER
Jane McCauley
April 7 Glad you enjoyed the article your Dad wrote. My memories of him reflect his heading to Brigham Pond with his fish pole.

Yes, I do go into the Murdock Muse site. I just read it last night. It is a very good site. Wish we had one for our family. I know many of the people on it and enjoy reading what they are up to. Thanks for a good job well done.

Yes, I reflect about having a lot of unfinished quilt projects but that is what is fun about it. We like to try so many things. I am going to Hobby Club today at Hubbardston House and will bring four baskets of different projects that I am working on so when I get tired of one I go to another. I like small wallhangings best and don't do too many large quilts. I have my computer room set up as a cutting and sewing room so I spend alot of time in there.

We are supposed to get 10 inches of snow tonight. Spring does not want to come.

I wrote to Carol Mannisto Maicki and told her to tell her mother about Chippy. Yes, I knew him well. He used to live in the Clark house across the street from me and he was one of my first babysitting jobs.... I also had a crush on his half-brother Richard Avery. Of course he was too old for me but that did not matter at age 12. I wrote to Chippy but he never answered and that may be because his wife has been sick. [Ed. Note: Chippy is Carl Martz. Carol Mannisto Maicki is my first cousin once removed. My mother bought Carol's parents' house, across from the common in Hubbardston, when they moved out of state.--NM]

MUSE SITE VISIT
Sue (Schlicke)

Note from the Muse editors: By request, this article has been removed from the Muse for reasons of privacy. Contact the editors at if you have any questions.

BASEBALL CHAT
Meri Murdock
May 2: I hope you can answer a question for me: I believe one of these '86 Mets listed in their roster (Baseball Almanac) was very spiritual, and often prayed during a game. Please look at the roster and tell me what you remember. Also, weren't Dykstra and Strawberry an almost unbeatable outfield pair? I have memories of high, high jumps at the wall. Right now I'm watching a rainy Dodgers home game. Yep, rainy - weird, huh? It looks like an Eastern game, seeing guys slip in the mud and all!

[Ed. Note: Sr. Ed. Bob thought the prayerful guy might be Jesse Orosco.
He sent Meri this link for a Baseball Library . - - NM]

May 3: Tim actually got me back into baseball; he'd come over to visit and put a game on. Okay, now we have got to talk about Eric Gagne; he is the most amazing closer ever. Sometimes I'm even sad when the game's not close enough for them to use him, because he's my fav player actually. He used to be a starter, but didn't have the stamina, so they put him as a closer, and it's a perfect position for him. I also really love Green and LeDuca. I think you are right about Jesse Orosco being the one who prayed; it fits. Thanks for the site, I'm gonna go investigate now!

I hope the Dodgers have a great game tonight, Ian and Tim will be there!!

SURGERY COMING UP
Polly Soberg
April 21: I went for my pre-op testing today and I'm ready for surgery at 11:45 AM tomorrow. I sure hope all goes well! I've been trying to keep my mind off it by working on the computer, installing AOL on mine and Clyde's, along with trying to figure out how to save all my e mail addresses and move them into the AOL address book. Any good suggestions??

On Saturday I raked for about 5 hours straight and I still feel it in my tired bones. The back garden looks nice though and a few brave perennials are peeking their heads up.

I'm not sure what I will do while I'm out of work for the next few weeks but I'll find something. One of my ideas is to buy a new Dell computer but I may sit on that idea. I really want a faster one and a slim line monitor but I know it isn't a necessity.

YOUR WEBSITE
Robin Holmes
I found your website and noticed that you have a LOT of Murdocks in your family. My maiden name is Murdock. I have a brother named Scott (I see you have a Scott Murdock in your family too). I’m wondering if we might be related to you.

We’re in California. Our Murdock grandparents were raised in the Hollywood, California area. I don’t know where their parents were from originally. My grandfather’s name was Victor. His sister’s name is Katheryn. His brother’s name is Curt. Curt and Kate are in their 80s now. My mother might remember what my great-grandparents’ first names were.

What state are most of you from?

[Ed. Note: If anyone would like to respond to Robin, the email address is rholmes@carlwarren.com. --NM]

TRIP REPORT - TOPEKA KS
Gene Murdock
April 2: I was all packed and ready to go but as I stepped out the front door and headed for the car I saw a cardboard box sitting on the side of my doorstep. I looked at it cautiously (one can’t be too careful these days with strange packages) and saw that it was a UPS delivered item and on the label was MRE S. AHA! The MRE’s (military Meals Ready to Eat) that I ordered last month had finally arrived. They had said that it would take awhile as they were swamped with orders at the present time. So I toted the box up into the house, opened it and extracted one meal of the twelve to take with me on today’s trip.

I was headed for Topeka Kansas, which, after crossing the river into Nebraska, was a straight shot down US 75. The trip down was uneventful, I had the tail end of a Dick Francis tape to listen to, caught the news and weather on a local station and switched over to public radio to see who was being interviewed this morning. I quickly noticed hat as I proceeded south I saw more and more things in bloom. Bt the time I reached the Topeka area all the forsythia, quince, redbud and pear trees were out in bloom! They were clearly a week ahead of us up in the Omaha metro area. By mid afternoon my car thermometer hit ninety!

Had to stop typing and get a glass of weak lemonade. When I am writing I do sort of a whispering whistle, which quickly dries me out. It’s an involuntary reflex, kind of like how you screw up your lips when you are doing something strenuous or exacting.

First stop in Topeka was the National Guard Museum. A well built, well stocked and well maintained place. It suggested plenty of financial support, and I was impressed with the quality of the displays. They had a few airplanes and choppers outside on static display and a “Jenny” inside. The Jenny was the main trainer for WW I aviators and became the backbone of the barnstorming pilots after the war.

A few blocks down the road was the Air Force’s Combat Air Museum – the outside needing paint and patching, the inside needing the same, and generally dark and dusty – a far cry from it’s ANG neighbor that I had just come from. Almost all of its panes were in a hangar in the restoration area. Most of them were identified with plaques, but difficult to find and read. Outside was a big Constellation in the EC 121 version with a ramp giving access to the interior. I love the “Connie” and think it is one of the most aesthetically pleasing shaped planes ever built, and was delighted to have an opportunity to walk around inside. I was looking it over carefully thinking how neat it would have been to have flown in this bird until I read one of the plaques which said this plane operated at 50 feet above the water to avoid radar and visual sighting during Viet Nam. WHOA! No way would I want to ride that huge bird at 50 feet elevation!!!

Next scheduled stop was in Lawrence, but when I got there I changed plans. The museum I was headed for was on the college campus, in the center of the city, with very limited parking. It was approaching the noon hour rush, so I chose to leave it for another day at a better time.

Interstate 70 in this area is a toll road, so I pulled into a service area for lunch where they had a Hardee’s. I was appalled to see that Hardee’s has gone to Hell! They feature what they call a Thickburger, with the smallest version being a one-third pound portion. Then they have two bigger sizes. Good Heavens! A quarter pound is all the red meat one person should eat in a day, if at all, and they don’t even give that option! I settled for a chicken sandwich, which had lettuce and tomato on it.

A few miles east, on the western fringes of Kansas City is the city of Bonner, which houses the National Agriculture Center and Agricultural Hall of Fame. As I got out of the car and headed for the building I saw a huge field full of standing telephone poles, all neatly arranged in a square grid covering several acres. I asked the doyen inside what that was and she said it was the site of the annual International Lineman’s Rodeo. Linemen from around the world come and compete in traditional lineman tasks. This year it is on Oct 18, so I have marked my calendar accordingly.

The ag museum was very interesting and well done, and the Hall of Fame portion had many familiar names in it including even Squanto who taught the Pilgrim’s the basics of corn culture in the New World. The museum has a reconstructed village with all sorts of artisans at work answering questions on their crafts.

From there I headed north on US 73 to Leavenworth to visit Fort Leavenworth and its museums. First stop was an outdoor display and monument to the Buffalo Soldiers made up of the freed blacks who served in the army after 1866. They served with great distinction over the years with many receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor. They were inactivated at one point, then reactivated and served as a segregated unit right up to 1952 – a year after I joined the Air Force.

Next stop on the fort grounds was the Frontier Army Museum preserving the heritage of Fort Leavenworth and the Frontier Army. Inside, in a glass display case, was a “Jenny” aircraft, making it an “aviation” museum to add to my list.

In the immediate area are a National Cemetery and the Federal Prison. The prison was awesome to see, as it sat in full view of the main highway up on a hill. I had memories of all the times in my early Air Force years when I heard such phrases as “You do that, and you’re headed for Leavenworth!” Everyone in the military knows the significance of Leavenworth as a Federal prison.

Just north of Leavenworth is Atchison, Kansas where I visited the Birthplace of Amelia Earhart. More of a home tour than an aviation museum, but they had a few worthy historical displays.

I had a list of many antique malls to visit on this trip, but didn’t get to even one – there were just too many museums to take in. On the way home a strange coincidence took place. I had an audio tape of short stories by Elmore Leonard which I was enjoying and one of the stories was about the Buffalo Soldiers, telling how they were the real stormers of the hill in Cuba and actually rescued Teddy’s Rough Riders from annihilation but never received credit for the feat.

Finally home after eleven hours and 400 miles – a satisfying trip.

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