May and June, 2004
Nancy and Bob Murdock, Editors - murmuse@erols.com

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CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE: GRANDPARENTS AT LAST (Claudia & Dennis Lindsey) Click SEE YA LATER!! (Margie Aukstikalnis) Click SPRING VISIT (Charles Frost) Click AFTER THE WINTER (Polly Soberg) Click LITTLE VICTORIES (Valerie Davidson) Click CELEBRATIONS (Roy Murdock) Click ANNABELLE (Daniel Leskinen) Click TRIP TIME (Gene Murdock) Click THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES (Doug Howlett) Click OSCAR FEAST (Becky Murdock) Click WAY FREAKIN' COOL (Darrel Murdock) Click Click here for Part 2. Part 2 THINKING OF WALTER (Gene Murdock) Click WALTER & THE FAMILY (Nancy Murdock) Click SETTLING IN (Christel M. Murdock) Click UPCOMING TRIAL (Valerie Davidson) Click R.I.P. LOIS (HOWLETT) KAMUNEN (Claudia Lindsey) Click PHONE CALL FROM DARREL (Bob Murdock) Click SHINGLES (Bob Murdock) Click SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (Nancy Murdock) Click

Muse Editors, 2002 Paula Franklin photo Nan's wall quilt: "Flights of Fancy" Annabelle Leskinen 1st Holy Communion Picture Gallery

Isabeau Judith April 20, 2004 Picture Gallery

GRANDPARENTS AT LAST Claudia (Howlett) and Dennis Lindsey Our daughter Martha, better known as Marti, gave birth to our first grandchild on Tuesday, April 20th 2004, at approximately 12:55 P.M. She weighed 6 lbs., 1 oz and is 20 inches long. Her name is Isabeau Judith Lindsey-Jordan, and she is a real beauty. Marti and Isabeau are currently living with us as the baby's father is in construction and moves around a lot. We are enjoying having her here and it is fun to cuddle a little one again. Now we know why you all rave about being grandparents. Such fun. [Ed. note: Click here for a picture in the May-June gallery.] SEE YA LATER!! Margery Aukstikalnis April 11: We are leaving Tuesday in our 1991 Tioga Arrow Class C motor home, and driving, in (+/-) three hundred mile jaunts to Palm Bay Florida. We will visit friends there for a couple days, then take a leisurely coastal route back home. When we arrive home, we will be trading in our 27 foot camper for a 2003 Class A 33.5 foot Damon Challenger with all the bells and whistles! We will be traveling to New Brunswick for a week in September and to our newly acquired 157 acre property in the high dessert of Douglas, Arizona in November for an indefinite amount of time. In between and thereafter, we plan on seeing the country, visiting family and friends, and enjoying our retirement, all from the privacy of our own (motor) home. Whew! As for this trip, Buttons, Bows, and Emily are coming along. Mr. Fish will stay home in the gentle loving care of our friend Jim Baldwin. Mr. Fish will be looking for a new home in September, when it's time to come in from the fish pool. Our estimated date of return is Sunday evening the 25th. So, see y'all later. And keep your ears open for any good campgrounds near you for future reference. April 30 OK; its now official. As of noon, Arizona time, April 30, 2004 Jack and I are the proud owners of 157 acres of High Desert (with a well) in Douglas, Arizona! We will be heading out in November, making many brief stops to visit family along the way, to establish some kind of seasonal residence. We will be off the grid, with electricity about five miles away from availability. We will be installing windmills and/or solar panels to energize a well pump, and supplement the generator in the RV to provide lights and heat/air conditioning. We will be dependent on RV parks for sewer disposal until we have a septic system installed. Telephone is still a big question (as is computer online availability), but we can use our cell phone about five miles from our homestead site. We may have to investigate satellite phone or install our own cellular tower..... Did I tell you we have three mountains? We bought a 2003 Damon Challenger Motor Home with only 1300 miles on it. It has two 'slide-outs" which makes it more comfortable than any fancy hotel room I've ever visited. It's model 237 for anyone who wants to visit the Damon motor home website to see it. Our model has almost every "extra" available, so is really super comfortable. We can easily live in it for months at a time. In the next two years we hope to visit every State in the Continental USA. (Hope the gas prices go down). After that we will decide whether we will summer in Fitzwilliam, or sell the property and summer somewhere else. We love New Hampshire, so it will be high on the list, but we may consider the Connecticut Valley area. Most RV parks have phone and computer hook-ups, so we will keep in touch with those who mean the most to us (including Muselanders) while we are on the road. We are very excited about the prospects of seeing the whole country, and I am very grateful that Jack has saved every penny, nickel and dime that wasn't necessary spending, since he was 10 years old. And now, I don't begrudge his admonitions if I wasted water, paper towel or food. Life is good; Life is short; Life should be lived to the fullest. Love to you all. SPRING VISIT Charles Frost March 22: How are you folks doing? Weather-wise you should be at least two weeks ahead of us. It's unseasonable cold here today but from Wednesday on the weather is expected to be about normal for this time of year. If past experience is any guide, the plants will start growing before we're ready for them. I'm planning to take advantage of the school vacation to take a trip south to see old friends. My hope is to reach Mobile, AL, to tidy up some loose ends in my genealogical research on the branch of the Chamberlain family who migrated there from Maine and Massachusetts about 1808. Any chance I could have lunch with you guys Saturday, April 17th? April 5: Though there were a few snowflakes in the air this morning the robins were hopping about, the cardinal was calling for his mate, the chickadees and the tufted titmouse were hungry at the feeder. Most thrilling of all, three flocks of geese came through about 2,000 feet up between 6:00 and 7:00. The excitement of spring is all about. By Nancy Murdock: We had a really nice visit with Charlie on April 17, the last day of my guild's quilt show. After a fine chat and a mushroom-onion-cheese omelet lunch, we all went to view the show, which had about 300 items. Charlie was particularly impressed with the number of guild members working while we were there. After we took him back so he could go to his next stopping point, I returned to the church to pick up my quilts. Of course, it was a different set of workers for that task, so his remark stuck in my mind. I think one of the really nice things about an event of this type (which Charlie picked up on, with his background of covert investigations!) is that everyone pitches in - before, during, and after the show. AFTER THE WINTER Polly Soberg We haven't had any contact for so long that I feel like I've been a "Rip van Winkle". Winter was the usual, sort of dull and depressing, but things are looking up now. We sold the property next door, to the chief of police in Webster. He and his wife and three children are building a nice big house. I was over there tonight just looking in amazement at the size of the property when it's opened way back. They have removed a lot of trees and cut the hill back. I think they plan to remove some of the trees on the hill off our driveway too. It's sort of nice but sad, as I had such great plans for that property. Oh well.. We did get a good price for it and will have very nice neighbors. I hope you will be able to come up for the fourth of July this year. I feel like time is running out and I need to see relatives more often. Sounds like your quilt show was quite an event. I haven't been to anything very exciting this year so far but look forward to good weather and getting out more. This Saturday we're invited to John and Cathy's to see their renovations to their home. They had a lot of work done inside: for instance, new floors(hardwood), and I think they were going to do some remodeling to their kitchen. LITTLE VICTORIES Valerie Davidson April 18: I'm still living up to the metaphor of the headless chicken (cluck, cluck), but "it's all good," as people are fond of saying nowadays. It looks like I'm going to be rewarded for doing a good job with the really extreme classes in the Academy by having them full-time next year -- which is giving me sleepless nights, but I guess I asked for it!! It really is an acknowledgement of my triumph (somedays it doesn't feel like it) in the face of huge adversity, and also that the partner teacher and I get along well, which is critical for this particular position. My credential classes are moving along, and all I have left is one little class of independent study over the summer, and student teaching in the fall, which will be no big deal because I'll be teaching instead. So, breathing room ahead, but meanwhile I have to survive 9 more weeks of alternating mayhem and "dropout prevention" -- a euphemism for remedial English. Wow, if only there were some way to make these reluctant students realize in a flash the value of an education. They really are slogging along with little or no hope in their futures, but they can make a difference with that if they can wake up out of their lethargy. Teachers with students like mine have to content themselves with the little victories, day by day, to find those perks that keep them going. April 29: School makes me very busy, but I'm learning to see to it that I take time to relax and catch my breath, because otherwise one gets into a sort of panic mode where the quality of time spent goes down and much time is lost spinning wheels while meanwhile getting less sleep. Relaxation is a fine art and much can be said for it. My evening classes are close to finished, but of course one research paper stands between me and the door. I plan to look at so-called "coping strategies," which is a euphemism for "bad behavior," which is believed to stem from a student's long history of feeling inadequate and so resorting to screwing up the class. It's a good thing to study -- or else! -- I might add. I will have the summer "off," which means I won't be employed or attending classes, but I'll be working like crazy to put together a strong set of lesson plans for next year. Nothing is for certain yet, but it looks like I will be the "Academy" English teacher, teaching 2 classes of 10th grade and 2 of 11th. At present the 2 10th grade Academy classes I have are hopefully the most difficult thing I will ever have to do, and my reward will be having these same students again next year as 11th graders. If this sounds a bit crazy, it probably is. I'll settle for being "the devil they know" and hope that that fact bends things a bit in my favor. Ever hear of the movie called "Dangerous Minds"? It's based on a true story about an Academy English class at a different high school in our district. Not a great movie, but there's some truth to it. The main difference is that the teacher in the movie (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a real renegade and I'm not. However, I hope that the net effect can be similarly miraculous. I love a good miracle. CELEBRATIONS Roy Murdock April 19: I celebrated my 50th birthday by going golfing with my stepson, Jerry; and then Tami, Khendra, Jerry and I went to my favorite steak house for dinner!! It was great!! Then, today at work, everyone brought food to celebrate my b-day. I, of course, ate like a pig. Sorry to hear about Dad's shingles. I remember his mother telling us she had them when we used to write to her in the early to mid 80's. She would have been somewhere in her mid to late 70's, like Dad. Tami and I celebrated our 27th anniversary a few weeks ago on March 21. We went to the Holiday Inn for a great brunch buffet (all you can eat). I, of course, ate like a pig. We're going to Minnesota this weekend. We'll be having dinner with Darrel on Saturday. I can't believe he just bought a Harley Davidson motorcycle a couple weeks ago!!! Wow!! April 28: We had a very nice trip to Minnesota. Darrel is doing very well. He has a full head of hair, no gray and is in good shape. We got to see his nice house, his new Harley Davidson and his new friend, Cathy. Also got to visit with Shannon and her family, Tami's mother (84), aunt (87), two half brothers, her sister and several nieces and nephews. Everything went really well and it was a thoroughly enjoyable visit. ANNABELLE Daniel Leskinen Attached is a photo from Annabelle's 1st Holy Communion. Photo by Dr Calder Hairstyle by Carolyn Dress by Mary Veil by Sears Stockings and Shoes by Walmart Happy Face by herself. [Ed. note - Click here to see the photo.] TRIP TIME Gene Murdock March 10: I head out to Colorado and Kansas Thursday morning. I'll drive to Denver in one day, listening to my choice of audiotapes of William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways and River-Horse. I also have tapes of The Map That Changed the World and several Tom Clancy editions, so the trip won't be boring. In Denver I visit with Rick on the weekend, but on Friday I'll run down to Colorado Springs and Pueblo to take in two aviation museums. On Monday I will go down to Liberal, Kansas, to a large aviation museum that is rumored to close soon. Across Colorado and in Kansas there are several historical or geographical sites that I want to visit. I will then head back due north into Nebraska to drive back down along the Platte River at the peak of the Sandhill Crane spring gathering, as they stop a few days to feed and drink enough to get them back up into Canada for the mating season. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES Doug Howlett February 26, Nancy wrote: This seems to be the year for birthday memories. Polly began it with a few little scenes that have stuck in her memory of me, and I sent some to Steve when his turn came. And now it's yours. Do you remember: Your fine tricycle, that was the pride and joy of the company Dad was working for when he got sick. The day you blew up the chemicals in your face in the basement. I got boric acid and put it in water, but I didn't dissolve it completely, so you narrowly escaped having me finish the job of blinding you. The "June pinks" in the swamp. They smelled nice and spicy, and they had little green "June pink apples" that resulted from bug damage at the right moment. It wasn't until a few years ago that I found those plants were wild azaleas. The little trick with the dead rat, which you or John pulled along with a string after calling me down to the basement. Ma's "pie festivals" when I came to visit. She would make two pies a day, and among us, we'd eat them all! The big sandbox under the ash tree. We all spent many hours building roads and houses to zoom our cars around. The blueberries we could pick off the bush to eat with breakfast cereal. Ma's hollyhocks. Aunt Ethel had sent Ma the seeds in a letter a while back, and they take two years to complete their life cycle. So the second year we got some blossoms, and after a few more years, we had lots of pretty hollyhocks, in the garden where Ma emptied the chemical toilet, by the edge of the woods out back. Comet Pond, where Ma took us swimming after she got her license. She would sit on the side and maybe dunk her feet into the water, but she never wore a bathing suit there. The fish you and Johnny brought home from Brigham. Hot cocoa and buttered toast. When you took us to the movies to see Pyscho. We had to stand in a long line and were flabbergasted, since most people were home watching free TV. It was a long time ago, wasn't it? I can't believe you're already 64 years old. You don't look lined and gray! Love and birthday hugs from me, and Bob sends a shake and a punch. March 4, Doug responded: I do remember all those things. Our brothers were always jealous because I got the tricycle. It was mentioned often (jokingly I'm sure) at later family get-togethers. I was always very careful after that explosion when I was mixing red phosphorus with the other chemicals. I've never had a "June pink" apple since then. The dead rat trick must have been John's idea -- I was too nice to do such a thing. Plus I was too busy working on an underwater fuse. I remember the sand box exactly -- even having to remove the cat poop before playing in it. I made a similar large sand box in Pottstown for our kids. I loved those blueberries and the wild strawberries in Dunlop's field -- way down the far end. Lots of times, the trip to Comet pond was for purposes of bathing as well as having fun. The fishing was fun and no worry about pollution as there is around here. I think "Psycho" is much better than most movies of that type produced today. We watched it not too long ago. Thanks for the memories of life in those gentler times. I'll write the Muse soon about the great birthday party that was given me. OSCAR FEAST Becky Murdock March 1: Hello there from rainy California. Yesterday it was beautiful here for the Oscars, and today it's starting to rain. We had our usual feast for the Oscars last night. Ian made roast beef, baked potatoes, corn, french bread, and - to top it off for dessert - cherry coffee cake. It was soooo good.... WAY FREAKIN' COOL Darrel Murdock The Muse is gorgeous, I absolutely love the new front page top, and the pics by the letters is a brilliant idea. I have to tell you, I am impressed that first of all, the Who's Who got started and is so far along with the webpages and such, but this new format kicks, I mean to tell ya! I'm so impressed I'm shaking with excitement as I write this. Oh yeah, nice job!! Clickable menus and sidebars.. oh my! I'm flattered you kept the original Muse logo, and it looks so cute all shrunk up like that, I love it. By the waist, my website traffic tripled in two months. I'm getting 3,600 page hits for Feb. The previous record was last Feb with 2,500, but it had gone down to 990 a month by Nov 2003. Then I read some tips on what search engines are looking for, and within two months was getting to the top of Yahoo lists thst had 230,000 entries and stuff. Try it yourself. In Yahoo try Egyptian Icons or Wolf Animations and you will see your AAALynx up by the paying customers. I have a new toy for snatching pics and editing them before they even hit the folder. I have been in Webshots, finding the gems in the free stuff and making things out of it. My new Dreamscapes slideshow, er I mean Real Dreams Slide Show in SCAPES, is all new pics gleaned from enthusiastic sharing amateur peeps. Well, you'll see what I mean. But I can take the 640x480 pics right out of the center or side of a 1280x1120 pic; it's cropped before it even hits the floor. AAALynx Click here for more articles Any comments? Contact the Muse editors at murmuse@erols.com

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