on Mr. Bob's head
read a romance
the cooing doves
to make coffee! |
As told to N. Murdock MY BALTIMORE VISIT (From “My Journal”) By Ms. Rubber Ducky January 28: I’ve been doing quite a bit of travel recently, so I thought I should write down my observations while they are fresh in my squeaky heart. For my trip to Baltimore, Ms. Margery wrapped me comfortably (if somewhat ignominiously) in a Kleenex box. Upon arrival, I wasn’t sure how this visit would work, especially after the hosts (Ms. Nancy and Mr. Bob) started calling me “Rubby.” This was not satisfactory to me. Just because I am not as tall as they are and am proportionately somewhat broader in frame is no reason to treat me less than politely. So I told them quite clearly that they should call me “Ms. Ducky.” That put the visit on a much better footing. It was a little boring at first, but finally one day they decided to take a series of photographs of me doing various things. This portion of my journal will be illustrated, using numbers to identify which photo I am referring to. Mr. Bob let me sit on his head (#1), which gave me a good view of the dining room. But I fell off, since his hair was so silky (not at all like my feathers!). He then let me hang from his key holder, like a swing (#2). I could hear his heartbeat, so I was in no hurry to move, except that I caught sight of the computer, just waiting for me to have an adventure. I decided I needed to write to Mr. Gene, my usual flatmate. (I think that sounds so world-traveled, more cosmopolitan than “Roommate,” don’t you?) So I sat at the computer (#3) and mentally composed a short message. Then I typed it out: “Hello GENE! From Ducky.” (#4) I feel that it is proper for me to be a little less formal with him, rather than calling him “Mr. Gene.” I climbed to the top of the screen to show my hosts what I had written (#5), and they said, “Well done, Ms. Ducky!” I went to the printer to watch the message get printed, (#6). When it was finished, Ms. Nancy smiled and Mr. Bob snapped our picture in front of a fine painting of the Iao Needle in Hawaii.(#7) That gave me a chance to feel almost as if I had taken another trip. I think Ms. Nancy may have gotten a little bored, though, as she went back to reading a romance novel from the library. (#8) She said it was to introduce me to reading romances, but I like a bit more adventure. So she took me to the living room to pose with a heart-shaped wreath with two doves (who, by the way, seemed to have no language close to mine). I am afraid that, unknown to her, I suffered a serious fall, and the picture does not show that I am on the floor.(#9) She did apologize, and I enjoyed the attention of those cooing doves as she was more successful on her second try. (#10) At least they were friendly, even if not too bright. As a treat, she let me pose in the very small Christmas tree. (#11) I liked the view with a closeup of an angel with a rather surprised expression on her face. (#12) They have quite a collection of small angels, mainly from choir friends. I think what I liked best, though, was to sit at the top of Mr. Bob’s Christmas stocking. (#13) It was good to be his guest, as he reminds me of my flatmate, Gene. But it was also fun to join the snow people and carolers. Quite a fine crew they were (#14). Then Mr. Bob held me in front of a nice bright quilt. He was wearing a fine sweatshirt with a waterfall photograph from his son Darrel. (#15) I was honored to be present. Ms. Nancy took me into their bedroom, where I got to relax on her nap quilt that depicts maple leaves in the fall. (#16) We ended up in the kitchen, where I had the opportunity to sit on the coffeemaker. Don’t worry, it wasn’t hot! (#17) And that was the end of the photo shoot. I feel somewhat like a model who poses for a popular magazine. Something like “A Day in the Life of Ms. Rubber Ducky.” Not a typical day, of course, but that is the point of taking a trip! Note from Ms. Nancy: Shown are pictures #1, 8, 10, and 17. If you want to see any others, you may send us your request. We will take care of this for Ms. Ducky at no charge. Barb DiStefano February 5: Alice wanted me to inform you she had a wonderful time, but next time wants to come in the summer so she can enjoy the pool. She went out and looked at it every day, to no avail; the ice wouldn't crack. But she did see some geese on the office pond, so tells me that means a mild winter. Since we had only about 8 inches of snow in January, and several mild days, I guess she is right. I was not able to help her correct her ambulatory status, despite a consult with a physical therapist, so I am afraid she still waddles. She will let you know where she is when she gets to her next destination. Arthur Murdock February 25: I am happy to announce that Alice has enjoyed nearly a month of traveling around central New England on a cultural, historical and genealogical tour. While riding shotgun in my sales vehicle, she has been able to see many of the area's finest towns and cities and at the same time catch a look at the past and present homesteads and resting places of the family of which she has become so fond. She even had a chance to visit some of her feathered friends at the Old Mill Pond. Her activities have been documented in print and photo and will be shared at a later date. Alice, although a bit weary from nearly 4000 miles of sightseeing, is anxious to head out to her next stop on the family tour. She will be packing (or getting packed) in the next couple of days. We will miss her company and look forward to news of her future adventures. |
"Mamie" Howlett |
Nancy Murdock My grandmother took us to the brook, My cousin Richard and I, But first she dug through a box For some aunt’s leftover bathing shoes. We didn’t want to wear them - They didn’t fit, big ugly things. To protect your feet, she explained- You don’t want to hurt your feet. We walked down the hill on hot tar Past the house of the old woman we never saw, Past the mailbox, past the lilac bush In our old clothes, with the floppy rubber shoes. We ran to the lure of the brook Skipped over the grass and ran. Wait for me, my grandmother called - Don’t go in the water till I’m there. Put on the shoes first, she said As we reached the cool, wet edge. There was no point in asking why - “Do we have to” would hold us out. I see a bloodsucker, I yelled, Torn between fear and gold water, Between mosquitoes and cool wet, While Grandma arrived at the edge. There are lots of them, she said calmly - Put on the bathing shoes now And be careful of trash in the water - Don’t step on anything sharp. Gingerly I walked to a spot Where the water came up to my ankles Cold and welcome to my hot skin But scary with warnings and sightings. The brook had its own ideas About elderly rubber shoes - It wanted to pick them up And float them along the stream. We found pieces of leather on the edges - From the old tanning factory, she said - It’s closed now, no more business- There used to be lots here in town. We fingered the buggy whip discards Slimy and slick with the wet, But Grandma suggested we find stones - White ones or pink would be good. Mica flecked the brook with treasure - Fool’s gold, she explained to us kindly - It looks like gold, but it’s not - But bring one home if you want. The shoes dragged my feet from safety - They lifted when I wanted to stand And stayed when I wanted to lift, Just the way rubber worked. But the water was cool on my skin And the sun was hot in the sky - Not as good as the ocean But a treat she could supply. Richard, less eager to obey, Claimed his shoes swam away - He stepped on a sharp tin can, Cut his foot and yelled as blood ran. Grandma called us from the brook - The outing today was done. Back to the blazing sun, Subdued by his bleeding foot. Nearly 70 years have passed Since that shortened time at the brook But I still see Grandma’s gift of old, A hot walk, cold water, fool’s gold. 3/4/2006 Meredith Murdock February 1: Kayla loves soft music. She likes a low radio, or being sung to. However - she does NOT like American Idol auditions! She lowered her ears and smacked her tail on the couch every time a singer hit a sour note. Which was often. One time she even growled!! Becky Murdock January 30: I wanted to give you a little museworthy news. Sat. morning I dropped Ian off at work, then called Mer (I couldn't rouse Natalie from her deep slumber), and asked her if she wanted to go to breakfast. She said yeah, so off we went; we had a great breakfast for $4.25. After all that coffee, neither of us wanted to go home, so I suggested we go to Macy's dept store, because I had a gift card I hadn't used yet. So off we went to the Brea Mall, which we are not very familiar with. Well, when we got there, we were shocked at how high the prices were for everything; my poor little $20.00 gift card was not going to go very far there. We looked at everything no no avail. And just when I was about to give up, we saw a cute little watch on sale for $16.66 (SOLD), I loved it. Then I saw some Liz Claiborne earrings marked down to $4.95 (SOLD). Happy with my purchases, we went and looked around the huge mall. Wearily, we dragged ourselves out to the car, but what was this - where was the car parked? We couldn't find it anywhere, and our legs were giving out. After looking like tourists, and a look of panic on my face, with the thought of, what am I going to tell Ian on why the car got stolen!!!! We regrouped, and said we must be missing something. Boy was that an understatement; we were in the wrong parking lot! We found some stairs, which low and behold led to the car. We poured ourselves into the car with great relief. Mer was a trouper, because I down right panicked; she was trying to keep me calm. All that drama made us both hungry, so we stopped for a nice lunch. Boy, that made us both sleepy. We dragged ourselves home, to a comfy sofa. What an adventure..... Missi (Howlett) Sargent Its 6:30am on January 3rd and I actually have five minutes to sit down and write. I just got the January/February Muse and figured now would be a good time to put together an update since it’s been so long. Where to begin….? As most of you know, Kurt and I got married on July 30th in a very quaint ceremony. We are so glad we changed our minds on a big ceremony. We saved an awful lot of money, not to mention stress. We are finally going on our long awaited honeymoon…leaving this morning, in fact. We are going to the Pink Shell Resort in Fort Myers, FL (www.pinkshell.com.) We get a whole week with no work, children, or animals. (We have five cats, a dog and a fish that are like kids to us.) Jamie is staying home with family who is house sitting and Richie is going with Dad. Kurt and I have gone on a few one to two night getaways but never a vacation, so we are very excited. This week was the best and yet the worst week to pick a honeymoon. We need one, and what better time than after the holidays to get away and get rid of some of that holiday stress. But at work, intersession begins today. This is the first time I’m not around and had to do lots of preparing to make sure it was all set even without me there. I still work at the college and have been busy with many activities not directly related to my job. I am on the Hurricane Relief Committee, and we are having a Hurricane Relief Concert on January 13th. The committee is in charge of raising funds for the Southern Mississippi Rural Health Initiative, which is the agency for which MWCC chose to raise funds. I was one of the main organizers, so I am a little nervous being away the last week before the concert. I’m hoping ticket sales zoom this week. One of my good friends’ bands, the Ethan Stone Band, is the headliner. (www.ethanstonemusic.com). He is going to be releasing a CD in the spring and does a lot of community oriented work. He plays lots of nursing homes and puts together the Tool Town Summer Concerts. The goal of the series is to provide family-friendly alcohol-free venues for local musicians to play free outdoor concerts. He’s a great guy and the community is lucky to have him. I’m also the President of the MWCC Alumni Association. We are a fairly new organization (it died out for many years but it was just brought back a few years ago.) We are still small but are growing daily. We are going to have our first full association “state of the association” meeting April 27th from 6-8 pm at the school. We are going to have a casual dinner and cash bar. If there are any Musers that are alumni, I’d love to know. Email me please. We need active members! We are also planning other events for the year, so if you get me your email, I’ll add you to the notification list. Regarding the home front, the boys have been having a good school year. Jamie has made quite a transformation this year. He’s 12 and is doing well in school and is playing basketball in a pick up league on Saturdays. Last school year Jamie had a very stressful year. I think he's happy about his dad and me getting married. He’s a loving, smart, funny kid. He is also getting close to being a teen (yikes, am I old enough to have a teen???) He will be 13 on April 11th. Richie is also playing basketball on a rec. league and also doing well in school. He’s 11 and is fascinated with Egyptology and knows many of the Egyptian gods and goddesses. He even went trick or treating as King Tut J. He wears his Ra (the sun god) necklace a lot. I think it’s great that he has an interest other than Playstation2. I got Kurt an airbrush kit for Xmas. He’s a very good artist (he definitely sells himself short) and he loves motorcycles. I’d love to see him try to airbrush a tank in the future. I’m betting this will become a fun new hobby for him (or I’m hoping, anyways.) As far as my leisure time, my mother has introduced me to Sudoku puzzles. She has been doing them for months and I finally tried one out… now I’m addicted too. Well I could go on and on but I guess I’ll save some for another update. Hope everyone has a great new year.
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