A few weeks ago my brother Billy and our 2nd father Gus, drove to Phoenix, Arizona to attend the annual Jones County reunion. Billy went last year and enjoyed it so much, he wanted Gus to make the trip with him this year. They knew I would be anxious to hear all about it, so they called me on their way home. Don’t tell him I said this, but Billy’s memory is either extremely good or he knows a lot about the things he makes up.

The Arizona reunion is not a high school reunion like the one in Murdo. It’s a gathering of folks who lived in Jones County and moved to Arizona when they retired. I understand all of the name tags say, “I don’t remember your name either.” I’m sure the burning question on everybody’s mind when they get there is, “How far away is the bathroom?” I’m only kidding of course. I’m the one who still thinks and writes like an eight year old. I’m really 65 you know. I tell Kip all the time that I’m still very beautiful. You just have to read between the lines.

I spent some time in Arizona in the early 80’s. I lived in Denver and worked for a company that insured real estate loans. Arizona was my territory and I spent a few days there every quarter. The joke below, is no joke!

Patti Dykstra Arnieri made this comment about the Phoenix reunion.”We told a million stories,” she said. “Some of them might even be true.”

Billy talked about everyone they saw and what he could remember about each person. It was a good idea for him to take Gus with him, because between the two of them they remembered quite a bit. Before he hung up, Billy said he really wanted me to call Belva Anderson and ask her to tell me the story about Murdo being the friendliest town ever. It’s a great story!

Murdo..The Friendliest Town

Some hiking buddies of Chris and Belva’s moved from Minnesota to Spearfish, SD. They had heard so much about Dave Geisler’s Pioneer Auto Museum, they decided to drive to Murdo and attend one of Dave’s car shows.

They checked into one of the local motels where they planned to stay for the three day event. Everything was going along just fine and they were having a great time, until the next morning when the husband discovered he had neglected to pack his underwear. His sweet wife walked uptown and began looking for a store that sold men’s underwear. She went up and down both sides of the main drag, and was having no luck at all. She finally saw a lady standing in front of one of the stores and approached her to see if she could help her locate a place that sold men’s underwear.

The lady of course told her what everyone from Murdo knows. There are no stores in Murdo that sell men’s underwear. Seeing the poor tourist’s look of disappointment, she said, “What size does he wear? Maybe I could go home and get some of my husband’s underwear for him.”

I don’t know how the awkward situation got resolved, but Belva said every time Murdo is mentioned when they’re with their hiking friends, the lady always says, “Yes, that Murdo has to be the friendliest town I’ve ever visited!”

I was dying to know who the helpful Murdo lady was, but Belva said her friend described her as being of medium height and she had brown hair. That didn’t help narrow it down much. Can you just picture her going home and rummaging through her husband’s underwear drawer and telling him she needed a pair for a tourist who didn’t have his underwear with him?

I think that story might top any of the funny experiences we had while we owned the Chalet Motel. Well, any I can remember anyway. You might ask Gus.

I’m sure Gus and Billy could have told the story much better, but I’m the one with the blog.

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It’s been a long day and Kip just said, “It’s five o’clock somewhere.” That used to mean it was time to relax with a cold beer. Now it means dinner is ready.

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The Way They Were

The Way They Are Now

I told Billy that I’m going with Gus and him to the Arizona reunion next year. I live in Texas, but very few Jones County people retire here. When I went to the Murdo all school reunion last summer, they still remembered who my parents were. I realize that five years from now, that most likely won’t be the case, but as long as we get to ride in the parade, queen cousin Valerie and I will be there. Billy can drive us around in Dave Geisler’s red convertible.

I loved reading this story again. I hope you do, too…Since the original book was written, Eddie and I have rewritten it, together. It’s a good story, especially for a young teenager dealing with a loss. 

The Book is available on Amazon. Proceeds will be donated to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides free books for children.

I wrote most of my Murdo Girl stories about a year before I began to post them on the blog.

I had already written about my adoration for anything “Connie like.” I even located the picture of the navy blue and white dress I found in the Alden’s catalog. The one I thought embodied the “Connie like” style. I had written about all the trouble I went through to dump my motel job (working for my Mom), so I could work at the Frosty Freeze where Connie worked during the summer months. Unfortunately, she went onto another job that summer, so that didn’t quite work out the way I had planned.

The shoes are ‘Connie like” too, but hers were black.

When I was putting my thoughts together to write the end of Connie’s story, I wrote a letter from Connie to me. Yes, you read that right. It helped me to sort out what she might have thought or said if she had known I was trying to be her clone back then. What if she knew I had written about that time in my life all these years later? I’ll share the letter with you at the end of this post.

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I hadn’t started my blog yet, but I had written the Murdo Girl stories, when I got the sad news. I read a comment on Facebook. Someone posted that Connie had died of cancer at the age of 63. I was devastated by the news. I had been remembering those high school days from long ago. Even though I knew I was no longer my once youthful self, in my mind Connie hadn’t aged a bit. I sat at my computer and stared at the picture I had found while searching for the notice of her passing. I came back to it off and on for several days. I had to accept that I was never going to see her again. I wouldn’t run into her at a high school reunion, or hear about her life after high school, which I knew very little about.

It was another two years before I found Eddie. I am really bad about getting or staying in touch with people. I thought about who I could call, that might know where he was living, but I never did call anyone. Time went by.

Then one night when I was talking to Karen Lindquist on the phone about the upcoming July (2016) all school reunion, she mentioned she had just talked to Eddie. She gave me his phone number and I picked up the phone right then and called him. We really had a nice visit and corresponded by email a few times before we all got to Murdo. Eddie and his wife Mari were there, along with our mutual friend and classmate Don Edwards. My Cousin Valerie Halla and I  hung out with the 3 of them most of the week-end. (Everyone has accepted Valerie as being an alumni of Murdo High School.)

We couldn’t have planned it better. Contrary to what people say, you can go back home and it can be the best time ever. In fact I saw more of my old classmates last summer than at any other time since graduating.

Eddie and Mari Jackson, Don Edwards, Val and me

I first started my blog when Kip and I took our first long RV trip. I found I really enjoyed it, so when we got home, I wrote (day by day), two fictional stories that were inspired by dolls. When I completed them, I started posting the stories I had written a year before about growing up in Murdo. 1400 people read the very first story I posted under the name of Murdo Girl. That was a little over a year ago. (2 years now)

I had named the dolls in the first two stories Abby and Bonnie. Mari and Eddie sent me some photos of a doll Mari displays in their home. Connie’s story began to write itself. I now had a C doll story. Too much happened in a few short months to merely say it’s been a series of coincidences.

The Abby, Bonnie, and Connie dolls.. My next book will be this series of stories inspired by dolls. All three are different in their story line. Abby and Bonnie aren’t published, yet

Eddie sent me some old high school pictures too. He figured I didn’t have any since in my earlier Murdo Girl stories I had used a picture of Audrey Hepburn for Connie. (He had found the blog and caught up with it after talking to me on the phone.) I didn’t have one single annual from high school. Eddie helped with background information and childhood stories. When we were in Murdo, he gave me a very special gift… Connie’s annual. He said he had wondered why he ended up with Connie’s MHS annual. He wrote a note telling me he knew now, that I was meant to have it. He said,”This isn’t Connie like. It’s the real thing.”

I have loved every minute of writing Connie’s story. It’s part Connie, part Mary, and most definitely about Angels. Connie Jackson believed that Angels surround us with love.

Dear Mary,

Thank you for your letter. I can’t tell you how good it made me feel to know you had been trying to emulate me when we were both in high school. You must have kept it pretty quiet, because no one else appeared to notice. If they did, they never mentioned it to me. Maybe because we were already more alike than you knew.

I feel gratified that I was mature in my actions and didn’t draw negative attention to myself. I guess it’s best to keep in mind that our actions influence others more than we know. Of course, the ability to act right should be embedded in our moral character, and be reinforced by the enjoyment of rewards that come from being a source of joy in the lives of others…difficult to do at every turn in life.

You have written about me as being a mature and self-confident teenager…A good student and role model. I’m a little surprised that you can describe my hairstyle, clothes and even some of the shoes I wore, like it was yesterday instead of 50 years ago. I understand you’re still unsure of what “Mary like” looks like. Although, I will say, I do like the Goodwill idea.

What interested me most about your letter Mary is your comments about life after high school. Why is it that some can make the transition with ease and success, and others struggle? I’m convinced the difference is not because of any inherent character defects. The question might be; what can or should happen in a young person’s life to make an easier transition more likely? I could have been more of a mentor to you had I known you were so influenced by me. It appears you literally watched my every move. I’m sure it would have helped us both if we had become better friends.

Look at it this way. We have both gone through hard times. Everybody does, but difficulties and a few wrong turns, cannot negate all the good things in our lives. Maybe the answer is we should listen more to the Angels sitting on our shoulders. Could it be as simple as that?

Take care of yourself Mary.

With love and understanding,

Your Connie Angel

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This letter and the Connie stories were written by Mary with Connie in mind. I have known many people since High School, but there has never been another quite like Connie.

I believe that all things happen as they should and in their own time. I for one will be paying more attention to the Angel sitting on my shoulder.

I was feeling kind of down today. I posted the final Connie Story last night, and I already miss Pearl, Lauren, Hope, Aunt Grace, and Pearl the dog. I still have the epilogue to post in the next couple of days, but I wasn’t ready to start anything new, so here’s what I did.

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I thought it might be fun for all of you readers out there in readerland to accompany me throughout the day. How often do you get a chance to see what the day in the life of a famous author is like? Besides, I wanted to remind everyone the reduced price for We Shall See what We Shall See will not be there when you wake up on Thursday morning ..(the 16th). That is, unless you get up before I do.

I sat around the house and drank coffee for a couple of hours before going to my Yoga class. The instructor insisted she get a picture of me and some of my groupies.

I’m the one in the black and blue..praying. Crystal the rather nimble instructor, is the girl next to me in the cute instructor outfit. You probably noticed I’m the only one with my socks on. It’s very important for highly successful authors to keep from catching a cold. Barbara in the front with the perfect hair knows me the best of anyone in the picture.

Unlike most days, no one invited me to have lunch with them, so I went and hung out at Walmart for a while. I stood in the isle and read a couple of the children’s books, but they were really boring (compared to mine, which is still being sold on amazon at a reduced price.) I eventually left and came home.

I told Kip this morning that I was ONLY going to have a protein shake for breakfast and lunch. These are quite good and they come in Banana Cream, Strawberry Cream, and Chocolate. They also pack a whopping 30 grams of protein.

Television makes you look 10 lb’s heavier, and I plan to be ready to go on the Oprah Show..Is she still on TV?

Seeing the Beasterhop sitting on my desk, reminded me to check my amazon royalty report. It’s up to double digits. My goal is to make enough money to build a rabbit shelter for all those bunnies people buy their kids for Easter. They don’t stop to think the darling little bunnies grow up to be rabbits that multiply. My rabbit shelter is going to include a huge garden like the Beasterhop has. He only grows carrots. He tried to grow lettuce, but the deer got into it. 

I’m like the Beasterhop..I have lots of bunny mouths to feed. I’m really lucky because I get to play with all the characters in my story. There’s Jack Sprat and his wife, and the Beasterhop going to work..Hi little girl with a curl in the middle of your forehead!!

Yes, it’s been an eventful day here at the home of a famous author..

At least I had time to shop for my Easter crown.

I’ve got to go..We’re going to have Mexican food with Pat and Jerry. Then I’ll spend the remainder of the evening practicing my autograph for all the signing parties I plan to have people give me. Pat asked me to sign her book tonight and I froze. I couldn’t think of anything to write. That doesn’t look good for someone who thinks she’s a writer and is trying to sell her book which is on sale on amazon. Those bunnies need every $.83 I can get.

I’ll be back tomorrow…..

For those Murdo Girl readers who don’t already know this…I have a book available on Amazon. The title is “We Shall See what We Shall See.”

The book is about a Beasterhop. It’s the story I told my Dad when I was a little girl. My brother Billy reminded me of it when he first read my Murdo Girl stories. 

It is currently available for $10.49. I had to go up a little because I added 2 pages, so the printing cost increased.

However: I am offering a price reduction from 3-10-17 to 3-15-17. You can purchase as many books as you would like for $9.49. You can go to Amazon and search for the book title or my name (Mary Francis McNinch). If the price doesn’t show $9.49, wait..I will be monitoring the change to make sure it shows correctly.

I love this book and I know you, and the children in your life will too. It’s sure to inspire girls and boys to use their imaginations. They might even come up with their own versions of the Beasterhop.

Sometimes when our eyes are closed we can see much better. 

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The table is fashioned from one of my Grandma Sanderson’s cups and saucers

(picture of two little girls)

Cousins Valerie Leckey Halla on the left, and Andrea Miller Sheehan on the right

Later on, I’ll give a history of all the photographs in the book. Some were gifts from our children and grandchildren, others are reminders I have kept from momentous occasions over the years. The bunny figurines were a gift from my very dear friend Pat Davis.

Below is one of my favorites from the earlier Murdo Girl stories. I still remember the night I wanted to sleep outside in my TV tray Tent.

I feel bad. Today I told Mom her teeth were yellow. She was getting on me about brushing my teeth, and I said,”Well, my teeth are whiter than yours!” I expected her to say something back, but she didn’t. Of course my teeth are whiter. Her teeth are 31 years older than mine. I couldn’t really tell her that now could I?

Then, I got the bright idea to make a tent out of a TV tray and a blanket, and sleep out in the yard. It works pretty good. You can actually use two TV trays if you have a big  enough blanket. You have to be able to stretch the blanket over the trays and pound a clothes pin in the corners, then into the ground. Don’t ever plan on sleeping two people in a one TV tray tent.

I got myself all set up, and I thought everything would be fun. It got dark kind of early. I have a flashlight, but what fun is it to lay there in your front yard under a TV tray tent all by yourself, without anybody to even talk to.

I don’t have a dog. Billy’s got a cat named Yappy, but she hides up in the attic above the garage all the time. She only comes down when she  brings her kittens to us. She’s friends with Pete Reese’s tomcat. Pete is the old man who lives next door. He has a tomcat we call Tommy. The cat got his tail partially frozen off one bad winter. I personally don’t think cats are all that much fun.

We kept one of Yappy’s kittens once and named him Tinkerbell. After he got bigger he ran off somewhere and didn’t come back for a whole year. Cats aren’t fun, but they must be smart to know how to get around like that.

You know, I’m just laying here thinking. I really don’t know Pete Reese very well. If he lets his cat’s tail get frozen off, who knows what he might do to a kid who’s laying outside under a TV tray tent.

The ground is getting hard on me. Dad never got around to planting grass, so I’m laying here on prickly weeds. What a dumb idea this was. Mom should have told me no. She’s probably still in there feeling self conscious about her yellowing teeth.

Maybe I should just go in and finish this night out in my bed. I sure hate to admit defeat. On the other hand how are you going to know if something will be fun unless you try it out? I could just say I tried it out and it wasn’t fun. It’s not like I just got scared and went in. I stayed out here quite awhile and I’m also without food and water.

Shoot, I forgot to go to the bathroom before I came out here. What if I fall asleep and have to go inside the house and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night? I’ll have to leave my TV tray tent unprotected.

I don’t have any idea how long it’s been since somebody changed the batteries in this flashlight. What if a snake crawls in here in the middle of the night and the flashlight batteries are dead? There’s nothing worse than hearing a snake that you can’t see.

I shouldn’t have asked Mom if I could make a TV tray tent and sleep in it while she was distracted about her teeth. What if she didn’t hear me right? She probably didn’t even think about the snakes and Pete Reese.

I feel sorry for Mom. What if something happens to me? She’ll spend the rest of her life blaming herself, because she started this whole chain of events when she confronted me about my teeth.

Do you know how long a person should tryout an idea like sleeping outside in a TV tray tent, without food and water, and a flashlight with unknown battery life?

I don’t think we have another flashlight so Mom can’t check on me even if she wants to. I shouldn’t be so thoughtless.

Oh no… I’m going to have to go in. I just remembered something. I forgot to brush my teeth.

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I have an extremely busy day ahead of me..So.. I’m posting this early hoping you will all have time to participate in a little challenge I have prepared for you.

(That’s supposed to be a wink.)

One thing is clear. With a few exceptions, Murdo Girl readers don’t appreciate South Dakota humor from 1938. Those that like it, love it! For all you others..I guess you had to be there?

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One Murdo Girl reader, Dianna KB, recently made me aware of a dire circumstance the Burke, SD water tower was recently faced with. (See newspaper article below.) On behalf of water towers everywhere, I am coordinating a March that will take place the latter part of March. Water tower lovers throughout the nation will carry signs with slogans such as: “Beware Buzzards, Water Towers are not Dead.” Another sign idea might be: “Water Water everywhere, but not a drop for vultures!”

To gin up some excitement, I am beseeching all of you to get involved by creating some awesome juice sign slogans. In addition, please help create awareness of our plight by participating in the contest outlined below. I will send all entries to the Burke, SD news outlets.

**Please refrain from saying things like, “I have thought.. about blowing.. up buzzards.”

Write the Caption

What do you suppose these bold turkey buzzards are saying and/or thinking? Submit your submission via Facebook, blog comment, email, or carrier pigeon. Wait..I don’t think flying a pigeon into a water tower guarded by buzzards is a good idea.

The winner of the caption contest will receive a lifetime supply of drinking water from the winner of the water tower contest, which will be announced at a later date. I’m giving you all day to do this so have fun with it. You might even want to name the vultures. This could very well be the most meaningful thing you do all day…or not..

BIRD DROPPINGS!

( If you think you can come up with a better caption for this photo of Queen E..knock yourself out!)

I was feeling a little overwhelmed today and something that one of my teachers told me came to mind. I wish I remembered which one. Wouldn’t he or she be impressed that I remembered it all these years later? If I had remembered it 40 years earlier, it might have made a difference. Oh, well. We all do our best with what we’ve got right?

This is how my thinking went today.

1. I need to make a list of things I need to do, then prioritize them.
2. I need to check on a friend who’s been sick.
3. I need to sort out my water tower collection. There are some I need to ask people to help me identify.
4. I need to get back to the Connie stories before everyone, including me forgets what was happening.
5. I need to quit staying up so late. I also need to quit eating so much junk, and I need to make my walking and yoga a bigger priority.
6. I need to call Gus, Bill, Heidi, Heather, Mason, Craig, and so on..
7. I need to write a thank you note to Liz for the birthday gift she sent me a couple of months ago, which reminds me, I need to get a Gift for Heidi today! Her birthday was 2/21, but we’re meeting her family for breakfast after Church tomorrow to celebrate.
8. Heather’s birthday was 7/8. I text her husband for her work address the day before her birthday so I could send her flowers. He didn’t see it until the day after her birthday, so I never did get around to sending her anything. I need to stop doing that.
9. I need to stop procrastinating so much. I need to quit being such a worry wart.

Okay that’s about enough. I could go on forever, but I don’t need to.

One of my teachers was talking to me about my homework, or practicing my saxophone, or something along those lines, and I was sitting there saying. “I know. I need to spend more time studying, or practicing. I need to spend less time running around with my friends, and eat fewer Bings, (I really didn’t have a need to quit the Bings.)

My teacher said, “Mary, if you need to do all those things, you need to remove the word need from your vocabulary.”

“What?” I asked. “I don’t get what you’re saying.”

The teacher said, “I’m saying, if you need to do or not do these things, then replace I need with, I am. say I am practicing, or I am studying, but don’t say I am going to. You can’t say I am, unless you are. When you’ve done it say I did it.”

The teacher made a good point. Mom used to quote Coach Riley, who was with the Lakers. Mom called him Riles. He said, “If you shoulda and you coulda, then you woulda.”

I think I’ve got it!

I am dusting off some water towers.

Juana Cupa Wata?

San Juan Batista, California…submitted by Lav aka Valerie Halla

 Lav sent me this one all the way from San Juan Batista, California where she lives. She says it’s right in her neighborhood. The descriptive words she used are: plain, tan, tank. There is no lettering. Well, that baby is big enough to keep the 1700 residents in water with no problem. At least there shouldn’t be a problem with low flying planes. Thanks for your contribution Lav.

Edit

De Plane! De Plane!

Burelson, TX…submitted by Laura Avant.

Wouldn’t you know it. The very next water tower I come to represents the perils water towers are often exposed to. This is an air traffic controller’s nightmare. You can see the smoke curling along the front. That airplane must have really come close to becoming water logged. Maybe Juana Cupa Wata has the right idea. I’ll put this one in the “Towers with an element of danger” category.

Somewhere in Nebraska…submitted by Eddie Jackson

At last a break from augua! This tower is probably full of coffee. I wonder if there’s a dairy farm close by. That would really top this tower off as being the cream of the crop. I don’t have the location written down where I can find it, but I’m sure Eddie will fill us in on this oasis in the desert of water.

The Juice

Located at Sunkist Growers, Inc., Ontario, CA…submitted by Gus Gustafson.

 My kids call this photographer of towers, Grandpa Gus and I am so pleased to showcase his fabulous entry. I would guess this tower is full of orange juice, which is a much welcomed deviation from the water, and coffee our other entrants boast being full of. You have to admire the moxie of this one. He’s saying you just try to “squeeze” me out. It won’t happen. Must be the vitamin C. Thanks Gus..Great picture. (Sunkist ceased operations of their facility in 2007, so look for this one to be classified as an antique soon.)

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I am.. and then I did.. buy Heidi a birthday present. Do you think she’ll like it?

It doesn’t hold water. It holds your cookbook up, and keeps the page you’re on while you follow a recipe. Kip said she probably won’t use it because she’s a “pinch of this and a handful of that” kind of cook. I got her something else too, but I really liked this cookbook holder.

Lastly, I saw something when I was shopping today that made me think of you Pat Penticoff Bechard. I don’t know how I ever lived without one of these. (Pat said she got her first pomegranate at Sanderson’s Store.)

 This poem was written in honor of Pete Swinson, who passed away at the age of 100. The photographs are by Dianna Kenobbie Diehm.

 What do you say on a dying day?

I will think of you and pray?

I am here if you need me?

 I’ll bring a casserole or three?

 Do you need for us to know?

You need time to let him go

 We look at you and see your loss

And know why Christ died on that cross. 

Your Heavenly Father

 Does not want you to despair

There is no cross for us to bear 

Your Dad might say

 “I love you girls. Don’t be upset

 I am just beyond the sunset.”

“And though I yearn for those above

I will never forget your love”

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A loved one lingers if they can

So you can take them by the hand

and say goodbye…

I didn’t think anyone would notice if I skipped posting for a day or two. I have been working on editing and formatting a story I wrote about Easter. I’m going to make it available in paperback on Amazon. I’m probably too late for this year, but I’ve started the process, so I will finish it.

My 2nd father Gus, called and said, “It’s been days since you’ve written anything on your blog! What is wrong? “

I don’t like to call Gus my stepfather. As much as I loved my Dad, he was only in my life for 29 years. Gus married Mom when I was 20 years old. More importantly, Bill and I have been so thankful to have him in our lives. He was and is our Angel. He took care of our Mom for 38 years, and he is a genuinely good man.

Mom and Gus at Ella’s

Horse Creek spreading Mom’s Ashes

Gus and I at the RV Park

I wrote this poem a while back and it has nothing to do with the aforementioned. It’s about owning your own mistakes.

Next week, I will catch up on the Connie stories and the Water Towers…

The Blame Game

Does your cell phone cause you strife?
Mine really wants to run my life
It pushes me to desperation
I have no time for preparation
When a call upsets me some
I react with something dumb

I type my feelings fast and furious
Knowing the sendee will be curious
Wait! I want to keep this friend
It’s too late, I just pushed send

Back to my life, who can I blame?
All  my reasons sound real lame
Give me a sec, I’ll think of another
Can I blame it on my Mother?
Yes of course she’s the one
Who made it look like so much fun
Ahh.. but she was such a pro
My reactions are much too slow

Dad must be the reason why
I lash out and sometimes cry
No..when he saw me throw a fit
He told me to get over it

I can’t give up all pretence
While I still have one defense
Times are different now I say
It’s hard to rise above the fray
Your thoughts weren’t so electronic
Agitations weren’t so chronic
Bartenders listened again and again
As long as you didn’t say.. “when.”

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I guess you think I’m ungrateful
And my voice sounds really hateful
It’s not my fault, it’s just you
Who can’t see what others do
No help will come from those I love
No healing words from up above

There’s nothing I can do today
Nothing more for me to say.
Nothing makes my troubles vanish
They even sound weak in Spanish
One thought.. gives me pause..
Have I figured out the cause?

I haven’t wasted all your time

while I assessed the crime

It was my cell phone’s fault you see
It could never have been me

You are not going to believe this. I didn’t write a post today. No Connie story, no Brick House tale, no Murdo reminiscing, no poem, no rap, nothing about Fay, or Jerome. I didn’t make apple chips or Fern’s chocolate cake. I didn’t record myself singing. (Lucky for you.) I didn’t dig for old school papers, or tell other people’s stories.

Here is what happened. I had to have some work done on my house. Yes..the joys of homeownership! I had to do it though, because if left undone, this house would one day fall down around us.

Do you believe me? It is the truth. A lot of work needed to be completed. I have been dreading this day for over a year…and if you’ve ever experienced home improvements, you know how it is. If you make one room look great, then all the other rooms look shabby, so once you start, there really is no end to it.

Here’s what I did. I cleaned it…and I had to do it by myself, because Kip selfishly went to help a friend put a new sink in their kitchen. It’s funny isn’t it how selfish and selfless have a lot of the same letters in them, but are vastly different in meaning. A friend (Dianna), sent me something today that made me realize what a good Queen I am.

*And they shouldn’t be made to clean anything but their Crown!

I haven’t had to yet, but I would. Usually it just takes a little hot glue. I don’t know if it’s a Queen thing or not, but I even wear my crown when I clean, and sometimes accidents happen.

When I was feeling tired and haggard today, I started thinking about all of you and how much you mean to me. You have all come to know me so well. It’s impossible not to I guess when I write 1000 words a day about everything I know and some things I don’t know.

Everyone knows I love funny stories, Murdo, Crowns, water towers, animals, Bings, funny animal videos, Queen E, family, family memories, travel, shopping at GW, Connie like anything, did I say Crowns? I love older people too. Preferably older than me. I’m sure I have left out something.

This is how I know that you know me. Here are just a sample of the wonderful things you have seen that made you think of me. I have tons more, especially if I include all of the water tower photogaphs. I included banners and signs, recipe’s and wonderful photographs.

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So even though my hands are raw from hard labor, I know how grateful I should be. I guess you could call me a Cinderella Murdo Girl Queen.

Yeah, I like that. CMGQ..

Well, I have to go now. I stubbed my toe on the vacuum cleaner, so Kip fixed me a cup of tea.

Once upon a time, many years ago (about 60), there was a sister and a brother who were babysitting their two little sisters while their parents went to visit some friends for a couple of hours. It wasn’t long before a war of words, and a few actions ensued. What course would you imagine an altercation like this would take?

Both injured parties felt it was very important to document their side of the unsatisfactory situation. Karen and Kip were the documentors. Kristin and Karlyce the innocent young girls whose lives were entrusted to a couple of rebellious older siblings.

One important thing. When the youngest of the siblings, (Karlyce), later found the napkin Karen had written her tale on, and the lined paper Kip had written his ‘attorney like’ replies on, she made sure they were both preserved for posterity. (That’s you and me.)

(You can read Karen’s larger handwriting on the napkin. I will translate Kip’s response at the end of his statement.)

**********************

Karen and her Mother, Naomi graduated college together.

“This is business like,” is written at the top of the page of Karen’s deposition.

Kip’s Response

Mom

1. Kristin told Karlyce to not like me. Reply: Karlyce accepted her.
2. They kept teasing and making noise so I couldn’t study. Reply: I gave them fair warning, but they didn’t accept. Reply: They kept making noises, so I pushed them around some.
3. They ran in the dinning room, front room and hall without wiping their feet. Reply: I tried to call you.
4. Kids had gone to bed. Reply: I was studying and Karen started to play the piano just to tease me. Reply: I whistled as loud as I could. Reply: She called me a madman and choked me around the neck. Reply: She went upstairs and wrote a note about me.
5. She came down and played the piano again! Reply: I didn’t listen, so she came out there and made lots of noises. Reply: I wish you would take action against these thoughtless insults.
6. I tried to be nice to Kristin at first, but she ran in the front room, so I made her get out, so she got Karlyce to turn against me. So if Karen even calls me a bully like Mike and afraid to fight somebody my own size, I’m going to beat her up.

Kip

**Note from MG: I don’t know who Mike is, and I didn’t want to ask Kip because I was afraid he would whistle loudly in my ear.

The Family during happier times..Smile..(Maybe next time.)