Murdock Muse
Sept-Oct 2008, Part 2





TWO WEDDINGS!
Nancy Murdock

We had two trips in July, the first being to attend two weddings in MN. On July 2, Darrel and Mary were married in a civil ceremony at the St. Paul Courthouse. They asked Bob and me to be their only witnesses, which we considered an honor. Darrel and Mary had called every one of the 19 or so judges who would be available on the holiday weekend, but they did get lucky on the very last one. Not only was she willing to officiate, but she did a great job of making it a memorable occasion.

She told them there were five things they had to know in marriage, the first of which was “Love.” She went on to explain some things about loving even when you weren’t completely in tune at the moment. I don’t recall all of the items, but I believe Trust was the 5th one. As she finished a sentence or two about each item, she picked up their camera and snapped a picture of them, picking up on their happy expressions as they noticed she was saying some of the important things they had been telling us about their relationship.

It was a wonderful experience. I had been disappointed that they weren’t going to have a minister or a priest marry them, but this ceremony covered most of the same ground. The judge was Irish Roman Catholic, the oldest of a large family. They really lucked out when they reached her.

From there, we went to Edina, where we met Mary’s mother and Mom’s boyfriend at Q Cumber’s, an all-you-can-eat restaurant with excellent food. Even though we didn’t eat meat, we stuffed ourselves, and I wondered how a meat-eater could survive a round at this place. We enjoyed the company as much as the food. It was a great day.

Two days later, we attended Darrel’s son Jason’s wedding to Bevin Hoffman. This was a whole different arrangement. This wedding was outdoors, and the minister was a boyhood friend of the groom. The wedding party was decked out in formal wedding regalia, themed in aqua and white. I felt a little outclassed in my white sneakers, but my body couldn’t cope with the black shoes I had packed for the event. One interesting part of the ceremony was that directly after the actual wedding, the bride and groom did a “sand ceremony.” They each had a glass container of sand (aqua for one, and white for the other). They took turns pouring a little into a third container, in stripes, and then they both poured together. This signified that they were two individual people who were now acting as one entity, together in their life now.

After the ceremony, we went on a tour boat on Lake Minnetonka. In addition to watching the scenery from the deck, we had lots of food, music, and dancing - a lot of fun. We drifted together in groups to dance, and I had a ball! I had wondered if I, the elderly grandmother, would be expected to sit and chat, but even the much younger women were great at including me. Bob enjoyed sitting and sipping soft drinks as he observed the action. He also, though, enjoyed two or three dances with the bride!

We caught up with lots of people, especially Jason’s mother Dawn’s family, and his stepfather Kris’s sisters, whom we hadn’t seen since Jason’s high school graduation, ten years ago. Surprisingly, they all remembered us. When we arrived on the boat, we were drawing up our chairs to a little table, and a couple of the women came and greeted us as long-lost family members, moving their chairs and food into place as they started chatting. It was great! We got their email addresses and promised to add them to the Muse list. They had enjoyed the Muse for years when it was printed on paper, but we didn’t have their email addresses previously. They told us they really missed the Muse, bless their hearts!

We spent most of our time in MN visiting with family, but Bob, who loves to do grocery shopping, managed to get us to Byerly’s a couple of times. The first time, I bought one of their grocery bags. It turned out to be even better than we expected, and we wish we had bought two. For one thing, we can pack Bob’s deviled egg container at the bottom of the bag and know that it will still be straight when we pull it out later. This Sunday it carried a big square covered dish of macaroni salad that was very heavy, along with assorted other items. They all arrived safely at the indoor picnic at church and home again.

For the return trip from MN, we managed to get to the airport on time to return the car, and in time to be checked in with our baggage one and a half hours before the flight. However, because of a problem with an earlier flight, they had to put us on a different flight, which took us through St. Louis, instead of Chicago, at least an hour later than our original itinerary called for. We spent a lot of time that day sitting on ripped plastic seats, reading. The good news was that I had packed a batch of romance novels and still had some unread ones to while away those long hours. Going by plane is not the joy it used to be. After being completely searched for contraband such as a bottle of drinking water or a tube that originally held more than 3 ounces of tooth paste, you have to pay to get your luggage into the hold, and they don’t even give out good snacks and drinks.

When we got to the “Park ‘n Go” in Maryland on July 8, we were relieved to find our car sitting comfortably, waiting for us. However, we couldn’t find the slip that told when we had left the car. Bob, bless his heart, had saved the boarding pass from Baltimore to Chicago, which showed the time and date we were scheduled to leave BWI. The lady in the booth was kind enough to consider that information sufficient. It felt good to arrive home safely.

We have good memories of this trip, especially seeing all our extended family members and enjoying Darrel's and Mary’s beautiful flower gardens. But we no longer look forward to flying.




ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Nancy Murdock

Two days after we arrived home from MN, we took off for New England. This was really exciting, as it was our first attempt at a long road trip since I damaged my knee and Bob had shingles and eye problems. But now we told ourselves we could take it easy, making it a two-day trip each way. So Bob made reservations at a Super 8 just north of Hartford, CT, and at the Fairfield Inn in Concord, NH.

We were a little out of practice, but we muddled along pretty well. We indulged ourselves a little more than usual as to how long we stopped along the way (in each direction), but we did very well - until we got over the Tappan Zee Bridge in NY. We missed the turnoff to the Hutchinson River Parkway, so when it didn’t show up in a mile or two, I decided to go south and then turn west until I found the route we were supposed to be on. I was praying that God would show us the way.

We quickly noticed we were in a very nice section of NY, where the very narrow roads were labeled quite differently from the route numbers on our map. The houses were large and well-maintained, and trees grew right up to the edge of the road. After a few minutes, when we still didn’t see the road we wanted, I told Bob I might have to go knocking on a door for directions, especially as the only car we had seen had driven past us without looking to see if we needed help, although we were perched on the edge of the road peering at maps. Bob said, “You wouldn’t do that!” I laughed, thinking that would definitely be a last resort.

Okay, we got to the”last resort” sooner than I had expected. It was clear we were babes in the wood, and I spotted a house with a huge tarred driveway and basketball court. I rang the doorbell and a Spanish-speaking maid came to the door. She tried to give us directions, pointing down the road and saying “Hutch North,” but then the lady of the house asked what we needed and told her maid she (the lady of the house) would finish what the maid was doing for us.

She knew exactly what we needed to do to get back on track. Then she asked if we would like to use the bathroom. Boy, would I! I had been looking at the bushes, hoping I could find cover enough to give it a try. Then she asked if we would like some ice water. We said no at first, not wanting to put her to any trouble, but she was too smart to believe we didn’t need it. She said there wasn’t any place to stop for quite a distance. When we were finished, she told us three times, very carefully, the steps we needed to take to get going in the right direction. Go right; go to the end of the road and turn right. Then take the immediate right at a sign that said “Hutch North.” She warned us not to miss that turn. We thanked her profusely and started down the road.

When we got to the end we turned right, and then in about one car-length, Bob spotted the sign “Hutch North.” We might very well have seen it as we came off the bridge earlier, but who (other than knowledgeable locals) would go down a street labeled that way? I have a vague memory of wondering if someone was raising rabbits to sell, as we drove past it the first time.

At any rate, this time we did everything right. God was definitely guiding us that day. He even bent over backward to show us that there are lovely people in this world. The memory of this experience helps balance all the horrible news stories that plague us.

We sailed along to the Super 8, where we slept well after a fine game of Scrabble. The next day we got going a little later than planned, but it was nice not to worry too much about the time. Before we got to the inn, I saw a Joann’s Fabric Store I wanted to visit in Keene, NH. Both Bob and I picked up items and fabrics until we realized we might need to hire a van if we continued. It was the high point of that day. I have already used several spools of the variegated threads they sold, working on Colleen’s overdue birthday gift.

The Fairfield Inn is a great place to stay overnight, because they are kind and helpful, and they have the best hotel breakfast we have found since we stayed at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel in Hawaii in 1973. The Kaanapali had lots of tropical fruits and fruit juices unknown to us before our big adventure. Fairfield has a do-it-yourself breakfast bar, with a little of everything . My favorite item is make-it-yourself waffles, with perfect instructions and a reliable, hot, timed waffle iron plus ready-made waffle batter all set to go.

We were fortunate to be invited to visit Polly and her friend Stan for supper. As usual, Polly did a fine job with the vegetables. Then Stan showed us some of the many clocks he has made. At a later date, he gave us one of them, an attractive ocean scene with a large bird perched on some rocks. Unlike most clocks without a glass cover, Stan’s scenic timepiece seems to keep perfect time.

Paulette, my brother Andy’s widow, also stayed at the Fairfield Inn, as a birthday and Mother’s Day gift from Scott, Regina, Casey, and Jeremy, so we had a fine opportunity to visit with her there, as well as at the reunion.

The reunion was a great get-together. We were privileged to have my oldest living relative, cousin Brad Howlett, along with something like four generations of his children and his sister’s children. Bob has what he hopes is a complete roster of the participants. Some of my photos didn’t turn out too well, but it was a fun day. Way too much to eat, of course, par for a Howlett reunion meal. Johnny spent many hours bent over the BBQ equipment. Not only did he do a splendid job on the various ribs, etc, but he also truly excelled at the vegetables. Since those were cooked late in the day, after we had overdone the consumption of salads, sweets, and fruits, we actually brought some of the vegetables home with us. They ended up in a great soup that needed something special to make it hearty. And while we’re talking about the reunion, let us not forget the fireworks that kept the kids very happy. Maybe not quite as happy as Sean, but he is the family pyrotechnicrat.

The next day, we left for Gardner after lunch at the Common Man. We took a slightly different route because of construction, and it was wonderful to get acquainted with a portion of Massachusetts I had mostly heard of in high school, in relation to high school football games. The weather was perfect for rolling along in some relatively unspoiled countryside.

We stayed just two nights at the Super 8 in Gardner. The first evening, we were taken to the Barre Mill for dinner with Art, Lorraine, and Dotty. Our stay in the area wouldn’t be complete, of course, without a fine game of Scrabble with Dotty. She also served us a nice meal on our last day there. Dotty is really good at coming up with a menu that relies on inspiration. She is back at Hubbardston House and loving it.

On July 13, we also visited with Ken and Jane McCauley, active in the Hubbardston Historical Society and at least two quilting groups. Unbeknown to us, it was their 51st wedding anniversary when we invited ourselves to go and see them! We had a fine tour of her quilts, which inspired me to get a move on and get quilting when we got home. Jane leans toward the more classic quilts, with historical color schemes. They said that on their 50th anniversary, they celebrated small (unlike Bob’s and mine, which we celebrated with three large events!). They visited her brother at his lake home in Charlton. They showed us a memento of the occasion, a mouse pad with a picture of the two of them with their granddaughter.

The next day I bought takeout breakfast at Dunkin Donuts while Bob filled the gas tank at Hess. Although Bob’s niece Penny works at Dunkin, it was her turn to be at Mike’s next door, so we stopped in there long enough to catch her eye and say hi. Then it was time to start the return trip.

Heading home on Route 91, we got off the track as we tried to find a restroom stop. We finally found a Yankee Candle store, where they were very friendly and cheerful. At one point, Bob and I did a little dancing to the polkas they were playing. Bob bought a nice dish towel, after wistfully looking at several other rather overpriced items. I had to tear myself away from the great-looking bean soup mixes. They did inspire me to make a bean soup from scratch at home, though.

We stopped for gas before getting to New York City. The price in Gardner was $4.01, but on the Merritt Parkway, it was more than $4.40.

Bob asked me to start driving before we got onto the road leading to the George Washington Bridge, as he felt an expert navigator was needed, and that definitely would not be me. The entrance to the bridge had changed since our least trip through there, several yeas ago. I kept thinking we were there, but then we would turn again and go around some more. We reached a point where we were going up and around in a sort of rickety-looking space until I thought we surely must be going to fall off the bridge. All I could think of was the many bridges we had learned needed to be repaired, after the bridge in Minnesota collapsed shortly after we had driven over it several times on our visit in 2006.

We were inside what resembled an old closet when I followed a sign and made a sharp little turn to the right and found a handmade sign that said “BRIDGE.” It scared the wits out of me, as I wondered, “If we aren’t on the bridge now, where ARE we?” Bob said it was nothing to worry about, as we would now be on the bridge after we completed the turn. So I held my breath and followed his advice, with my hands clenched on the steering wheel. But he was right, and things got easier when I could actually see the water. The road over the bridge was kind of junky looking, but it wasn’t a bad ride.

After I had driven 129 miles for that stretch, Bob finally allowed me to stop at Thomas A. Edison Service Area on the New Jersey Turnpike. For “dinner,” I bought one slice of Sbarro’s pizza and cut it in half for the two of us. We had plenty of other munchies to take up the slack.

The rest of the ride was uneventful. We switched drivers at Clara Barton Service Area and had one more stop at Maryland House. Looking back, we did have to laugh that we had managed to get into both the morning commuter traffic in New England and the evening traffic farther south.

Would we do it again? For sure we will! It was much more interesting than going by plane, and I admit that I loved seeing the old landmarks. I had actually forgotten how many trees and flowering plants one could enjoy when traveling through New England in the summertime. And I do enjoy long trips with Bob. We find lots of little ways to make it fun, and I confess that we feel a sense of accomplishment in achieving this pleasant trip at ages 76 and 82.




SETTLED IN
Monica Knox

August 17: Hey you two,

Hi from Minnesota! It was nice to see you two and to 'hang' with you at the wedding.

I'm finally all moved and settled in. It's nice to have my computer up and running.

What a nice website you have! I'm babysitting Olivia today. All is well here. Take care.

Monica Knox in MN

Peace - Love - Happiness
ONCE UPON A MONKEY
Ian Murdock

H'lo, folks. High time it is for me to catch up after a bout with uncommunicativeness-ish, so let this be a Late Parents' Afterbirth Day note (I think that covers Mother's Day, Father's Day and June 3, no?)

I also want to thank you both for the generous birthday bestowment. (Is that not a word? It doesn't pass the Yahoo smell test.) Your gift enabled me to present Becky with a professional pedicure for her own birthday and continues to serve me well to date in various food-oriented capacities. At this time, a haircut is high on the list of possibles.

A new poem, for the reading pleasure of that couple who turned me on to the fun of wordplay:

Once Upon A Monkey

Once upon a monkey,
I had a little time.
We'd speak in strange bananas
as he peeled and ate a rhyme.

"You're what," he late me asked one night,
"a frong man, or a stool -
or are you but the little girl
who follows lambs to school?"

"I'm so anfused," I conswered back.
"My doubt is full of mind.
I want to best the do I can
but hard is hope to find."

The chucky monkled. "It's all right,
keep hollowing your feart;
for though your fruit seems journeyless,
you're almost to the start."

"You mock me now!" I lied out croud.
"A Nero I am hot!"
"Oh, boysense, non," he scolded me.
"That's bunch a just of rot.
You need to just unclench your brain;
your sphincter's in a knot!"

"I stand I underthink!" I gasped.
"I've been up too fartight!
The more intense, the more I tense,
and nothing comes out right!"

"Ah, now you're talking sense, I sense;
goodnight, Good Knight; goodnight."
With that, he curled up in a ball
and I turned out the light.

Well, it's off with me to hang with Becky for the eve. Stay cool and hydrated, okay? See you in baseball post-season!

-Smurgwump




BACK TO THE PRAIRIES
Charles Frost

Back to the Prairies: No seagulls, plovers, ruddy ducks, cormorants or crashing waves out here. Those are just pleasant memories of walks at the Maine beaches. Saw the children, some of the grandchildren and quite a few former students of York High School during my stay. A few observations from the trip to Missouri, especially funny things.

Wednesday (August 13): Listening to the NPR station at Univ of New Hampshire a girl speaking Japanese introduced a country singer. Couldn't translate the title of the song but it came across as "Mama, The World Isn't Treating Me Right!" (Didn't he read Bill Gates' list of things they don't teach you in high school?) Sunny to the Hudson River along Interstate-90 through the beautiful Berkshires. Railroads are alive and well in Amsterdam, NY -- a train passed the motel every 30 minutes that night.

Thursday (August 14): Misty along the picturesque Erie Canal. Because of heavy rains the last several weeks there was more water going through the sluice gates at the locks than would be normal for the summer season. The bridge infrastructure is rusty (only one bridge being repainted). A UPS tandem rig drove into a New York Thruway service area just ahead of me. As I was waiting in line at Dunkin Donuts I noticed that the UPS driver had a special behind-the-counter arrangement with the manager. The rig was gone when I returned to my car a few minutes later. Sent his order ahead by cell phone? Wild turkeys were roaming the broad marshes and meadows of the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. Driver aerobics: exercising toes, feet, ankles and legs, as well as twisting upper body to CD bagpipe music of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.

Friday (August 15): The Indiana Toll Road has set up animal detection devices along some of its straight roads. They send a signal whenever a large object breaks the black-light beam between two stanchions. Wonder if the system works? Many farmers were irrigating their crops of corn, soybeans and milo with those 300-500 foot rotary rigs. One of them malfunctioned and was just watering the highway!

Negotiating congested trafficways around Chicago was made easier by listening to the lively rhythms of the 12 Girl Shanghai Band. They play classical and modern tunes (Nessan Dorma, Handel's Fireworks Suite, Take Five, and the theme from Titanic) on ancient Chinese instruments, the whiney pipes and twangy string instruments. The effect with their sweet voices is pleasing and relaxing. Took the southern loop around the Quad Cities. Daddy Handy would have been transferred to the Rock Island Arsenal here had he not opted for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard when the Springfield Armory was closed.

Once across the Mississippi River and heading south between Davenport and Burlington, Iowa, couldn't help humming to John Denver's "Thank God I'm A Country Boy". Drove into Kirksville, MO, about 5:00 PM, 1410 miles. Dear Janice prepared a special dinner of stuffed peppers for my arrival home.
SUMMER PLANS
Chip Martz

Hi Nan and Bob,

Thanks for changing my address for the Muse. No, I will not be going east this summer. However, I am happy to hear you will be in Calif. in October. I will be home all month between hiking trips. Please plan to stop by or stay overnight if you can.

Chip




ENJOYED THE MUSE
Margery Aukstikalnis

July 1, 2008 - I read with interest Mary Cosgrove's article on clay ovens, and will be researching more on the subject in the morning. Sounds like something I could do here in my own back yard! And Colleen is so generous to take us with her on her trips. I love reading her articles. I especially loved Nancy's article on reflections. The older we get, the more we appreciate every day.

Dad's birthday today. (Speaking of reflections.)

Have a wonderful 4th!

[Ed. note: We received the message below from sister Dotty. - RDM]

Margery had told me that Jack was busy putting up 1200 feet of barbed wire (3 strands). I wrote and asked her why he needed the fence. This is her reply!!

Arizona. like most of the southwest, honors the federal law protecting the grazing rights of cattle. Cattle are free to roam on any and all property in Arizona unless the property owner takes legal, fencing measures to keep them out. The Department of Transportation fences all the highways, so we have one border we don't have to worry about. Except, in order to put a driveway onto the highway, we had to breech their fence, put in our own gate, and now have the obligation of maintaining the side of the highway for 400 feet on either side of the gate. The State still owns the land, but we must keep it mowed, vegetated (grass or flowers) and traffic-safe (visibility and/or warning flags) because we gained a right of way.

So, our neighbor to the east has cattle. The farmer lives about 40 miles up the road, but he grazes his cattle on this property which he either owns or rents. The interesting thing is his cattle go up on the tracks (no tracks, just RR bed) behind our house and enter the private, unfenced property next door on the West, so we have to keep all three of those boundaries fenced ourselves. Normally a couple boundary fences would be shared by neighbors.

Arizona, we find has some unusual laws. It is a "free" state like New Hampshire, but the freedom it protects is not always the landowner. We have to get a permit to put in a light in our back yard!! And it must not shine in any manner that will "interfere with the star gazing" of our neighbor.

The neighbor on our north (across the tracks) has a small herd (usually about ten) of cattle, but he keeps his fenced into a 72 acre property. Unless they jump the fence.

Our favorite neighbors are across the highway, fenced into their own property. There are ten of them living there now. All Llamas. I llove llamas.




BLESSING IN DISGUISE
Christel M. Murdock

Just a quick note. I finally have a diagnosis for the illness that kept me out of work for almost four months. It was mono. The first test gave a false positive. I was lucky the doctor I chose for my second opinion was diligent enough to ask for another test.

I went back to work July 3rd. I chose that day for a reason. After being in bed the majority of the days for more than three months, I was terribly out of condition, finding it hard to make it up even a small flight of stairs. I didn't want to overwhelm myself, so my doctor and I came up with that return date. With this schedule, I got to work one day, get a feel for how my body reacts to a whole 8-hour day, and then rest if I needed to.

Today was my second day back. It went by pretty darned smoothly and I have an hour lunch just in case I feel I need a rest, as I still have chronic fatigue associated with the cause of my mono.

Right now, I just searched in Google for Robert's name and "Chargers" and got a huge smile on my face recalling all the blessings I got from this turn in my life. I got closer to my nephews, but what's even more amazing to me (and goodness I hope I don't offend anyone).. but it's that I got closer to my brother. I thought he and I would never understand each other and that I would have to settle for distant familial love. Not so. I am happy to say that I genuinely love my brother not only because he is family, but because he is someone I can identify with, and someone I can use as a role model as a parent for the family Alison and I plan to have. I am so proud of the way his children have grown and how consistent and loving he is as a father. And I am so happy and proud to be his sister.

That is the biggest blessing, but I have personal growth as well. I went from a person who was constantly thinking about 20 things at a time, rushing from place-to-place, rushing from task-to-task, to someone who no longer speeds on the roads, and I take life a lot more slowly and calmly and try to complete a task correctly before moving to the next.

I'm still quite imperfect, but happy to have had this opportunity to slow down in my life. I hope all is well with everyone and look forward to the next issue of the Muse!


Click here for Part 3 of the Sept-Oct 2008 Muse.

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