Those 70ish Girls

(Written Thursday)

It’s Thanksgiving Day and we are in Galveston, TX. We got here yesterday after spending two days in Corpus Christi. While in Corpus, we decided we had to take some time to catch up with mundane things like the laundry. We got the car detailed, and cleaned our cozy little road home. After completing our tasks, we headed for the beach.

We’re going to the beach..Yea! We’re in Corpus Christi and we’re going to the beach!

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Barkaritaville..A bath after the beach

After 6 weeks on the road, our little dogs were looking pretty grubby. We looked around Corpus and found the coolest place to give them a bath. Its called Barkaritaville. They offer full pet grooming, but we opted for the do it yourself “bath station.”

 The station is equipped with  a sprayer that operates in cycles like a car wash. The first step is to shampoo, then rinse. Next on the cycle is a conditioner, followed by another rinse and a blow dry. The last thing you do, is rinse out the tub with a disinfectant spray. The whole thing was $10 per dog, but it was worth it. Cyndie escaped the full deal. She just got brushed out.

With everything spanking clean again, we headed to Jamaica Beach in Galveston, Texas. Some friends who also live in Mabank, have been going Jamaica Beach RV Park for years. They told us about Thanksgiving there  and it sounded like a lot of fun. I’m going to wait to write about it all after we complete our stay. We leave for home on Monday.

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I’ll give you a little picture preview. We’re having a blast with Ron and Barbara. We hope you all had a joyful Thanksgiving too!

Kip and our friends Ron and Barbara Spahlinger walking along Jamaica Beach in Galveston. Our still clean dogs resting after the 4 mile walk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope expected Warren to call her when he got back from visiting his Dad in Wyoming, but she didn’t think he would come right over. She was surprised and happy to see him standing in the hall. Her happiness turned to concern when she got a closer look at him. Warren was visibly upset, but why?

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“What is wrong Warren?” I shoved him into Pearl’s kitchen and shut the door behind us. I didn’t know if I should badger him, or give him a few minutes to settle down. I decided to badger him. “Come on Warren, I couldn’t wait for you to get home, but something bad has happened hasn’t it? Please tell me Warren. You’re scaring me!”

Warren walked over and sat at the kitchen table, so I did too. I was familiar with what I saw when I looked at his face. Not because I had seen him like that..I hadn’t. I had seen the same expression in the mirror. Not since the months after my parents died, had I seen such a tortured expression. Only this time, it was on my best friend.

“Warren,” I pleaded. “You have to tell me what has happened.” My mind was going crazy. I was afraid to hear his answer. I was afraid for him. He looked at me and shook his head as if he could read my mind. I took a deep breath and waited. I had to do something so I got up and poured him a glass of cold water. It wasn’t ice chips, but it was my way of trying to help him feel better. I began to understand why my Mom always brought me a cup of ice chips when I felt sick. After Mom was gone, Grandma brought me ice chips when I was sick with grief and it had upset me even more.

I could barely hear Warren when he spoke.

“Nobody died Hope, and nobody is sick. Well that isn’t exactly true I guess. Nothing is ever going to be the same, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I had to get out of my house, and away from my Mom and Dad. I’m sure they’ll figure out I came here.”

“I saw your Mom yesterday,” I said. “She didn’t act like herself. Does that have anything to do with what has you so upset?”

He looked away for a long moment as if he was trying to decide if saying the awful thing out loud would make it more real. I knew that feeling well.

“My Dad came in the house when he brought me back today. I thought Mom would be at work, but she wasn’t. She was sitting in the livingroom. The place was a mess Hope. My mom wasn’t sick, she had been drinking, and this wasn’t the first time.”

Warren looked at me. I guess he was waiting for my reaction. “I’m so sorry Warren.” It was all I could think of to say.

“Dad was so mean to her Hope, and not just today. Dad has always been mean to her. Do you want to know what he said?”

I nodded. I needed to hear it all. I needed to know what had happened to hurt my friend so badly.

“He told her that she wasn’t capable of taking care of me, because she couldn’t even take care of herself. Mom didn’t say a word. She just looked at me. She had tears running down her cheeks, but I don’t think she knew it. She didn’t even know she was crying.”

“That’s terrible Warren. Did your Dad leave? Is your Mom at home by herself?”

“I don’t know..Dad told me to pack my stuff. He said he was taking me back to live with him. I told him I was not leaving my Mom and I was not leaving Murdo, then I ran out of the house and came here. I meant what I said. I’m not going with him, even if it means I never see my baby sister again.”

The phone rang and I could hear Pearl in the other room talking to the caller. Warren and I both heard her say, “Why yes, I think he is here. Would you like me to put him on?” Soon, she came into the kitchen.

“Warren honey, that was your Mom, she wants you to come home. Your Dad wants to say goodbye to you.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” I asked. “I can at least walk you part way.”

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Connie’s Story

Listen to your Angel

“Connie Angel, I need your help. I don’t understand why some people act the way they do. When I walked Warren home, his Dad was outside talking to Warren’s Grandpa. His Grandma must have been inside with Mrs. Martin. Mr. Martin’s new wife and new baby were sitting in the car waiting. Warren hadn’t told me they were there. I didn’t think it was my place to stay. I mean, what could I do?”

You have helped your friend more than you know Hope. You two have been good for each other. Remember how sickly Warren was when he first moved here? He seems to have outgrown his asthma. He’s even been able to play basketball, and I understand from what you have said, he’s pretty good too. Does he plan to play in high school?

“I guess so. That is if he gets to stay in Murdo. He’ll really be upset if all the kids find out his Mom is drinking a lot. He’ll be embarrassed too.”

That’s where you can help him Hope. Maybe things will calm down and Warren won’t have to leave. Whatever happens, you and Warren need to remember you can’t control what the other kids know or do. It doesn’t matter anyway. You can’t influence the decisions his parents have to make either, but you can help Warren. He can get through whatever happens. You should know that better than anyone.

 “But Connie Angel, If I can’t change anything for him, how can I help him?”

You can start by telling him he has an Angel watching over him too. You can tell him to listen to all that is good inside himself before he says or does anything he might regret.

“Does everyone have an Angel like I have you?”

Yes Hope.. everyone has an Angel.  A voice they can seek and listen to and trust. You are learning to listen for the right answers. 

I know this is a lot for you to understand, but I’m hoping you will grasp the meaning. You cannot depend on others to do what is right. You always have the choice. Do you listen to your Angel’s voice, which you could think of as your higher voice, or do you follow other people who might lead you astray?

“I think I understand, but I have a question. Will Warren have to start with a doll like I did? I don’t think he will go for that. I’m only kidding Connie Angel, but you already know that don’t you?”

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Well.. has someone had enough for one day?  Let me give you something else to ponder.

School begins in a couple of weeks. I know you want to start high school with Warren, but if that doesn’t happen, you will have to accept the way things are. You both need to lighten up and enjoy this time in your life. Refuse to carry the weight of the grownup’ s problems on your young shoulders…And Hope.. You both need more friends. 

“I know. I’ve been thinking a lot about that. Oh no, I just saw something.”

“Pearl..come here Pearl..there you are. You didn’t eat your food today and you’ve been acting funny. Look what I just spotted on the floor by your bed? A Bing wrapper. Wait here, I’ll go get you some ice chips.”

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Fun memories of High School in the late 60’s. On PE days we wore short skirts and knee highs so we wouldn’t have to bring extra socks or deal with pantyhose. Did you have an autograph dog that all your friends signed? Me neither..

We were glad to see El Paso in our rear view mirror, but it wasn’t long before looking out the window of the motor home was once again a pleasure. We drove 382 miles Saturday before we stopped for the night, which turned out to be a little disconcerting at first.

We decided to drive further than our planned destination and as we continued to drive, we had to keep rethinking where we should find a park to spend the night. We have a Good Sam’s GPS attached to the dash that has proven to be invaluable. It’s the one we left charging at home last year. The GPS not only gives us directions including which lane to be in, it tells us where all the restaurants, gas stations, rest areas, RV parks and other points of interests are.

About 4-ish, I plugged in the name of a town up ahead and only one RV park came up, so we headed that way. When we exited highway 10, we saw beautiful hill country, but no signs of life, like houses or cars. The GPS voice said to go 5 miles down the road, then turn left onto a private road. We followed her directions, but still the only living things we saw were deer, some sheep, and a scary looking coyote.

I didn’t ask Kip what he was thinking, but I was worried. What if it was a dead-end? What if it turned out to be a big ruse and we would be met by dangerous robbers? Later Kip told me the only thing he was thinking about was the sun was setting and he wasn’t going to drive back out of there until morning no matter what. He was already concerned about hitting a deer.

As we topped a hill, we saw a sign that said, “Watch out for children.” What would kids be doing way out there with sheep, deer and coyotes we wondered? The GPS lady kept talking, and we kept driving.

Finally… we got there. It looked like a great place in a beautiful hill country setting. We could see 2 RV’s set up in a rather secluded spot. Then we saw a nice house and a store. Kip parked and walked over to the store. When he came back out, I could see he had paperwork in his hand which is always my sign that we got a spot.

The whole purpose of the park is to provide a place for people who are going to tour the nearby Sonora Cavern or hike the trails and see the wildlife. They have a deer feeding area, but there’s no hunting. The deer are as tame as a deer can be. They also have peacocks and pheasant roaming around. It is a working sheep ranch as well. They sell homemade fudge and souvenirs in the store that’s also home to a mounted moose head, several deer, and other animal heads that I didn’t look at closely. 

 

Cyndie is not too happy about Kip petting Big White

We befriended a Great Pyrenees with size 12 feet, and met the two other couples in RV’s who also got there by chance, not on purpose. The place wasn’t crowded on Sunday night, but they said they had been full Friday and Saturday. Our only regret was we didn’t feel we could spare the 2 hours it would take to tour the Sonora Caverns. It will be on our list of places to come back to.

Ann Margaret with her boyfriend Elvis (peacocks) 

Goodbye Sonora Caverns. You get a 4.5. I got to see deer, but I had to stay on my leash.

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Friday night

What a difference a day makes. We got away from Tucson around 9:00 this morning, which was good for us. Our goal was to get to Las Cruces, NM, but we made it to El Paso for a total of 312 miles. That was really good for us! It’s supposed to freeze here tonight..bad for us. It’s the first time we’ve had to think about things with water in them freezing. I’m already dreading taking the dogs out in the morning.

What is an El Paso? Do they bite?

I learned a new phrase today that really applies here. The phrase is,”Momma milk my goat.” I borrowed it from Judy Dykstra Brown’s blog, Lifelessons. You can find the story if you go to her blog at judydykstrabrown.com and use the search words, Grandma goat. It’s a good story.

On the long drive, we were lamenting about the lack of beautiful country to appreciate. There were no pictures to take. It’s over, we thought. We needed time to grieve. Then it happened again. We topped a hill… okay, rounded a corner, and saw this…

 

I was totally unprepared. I didn’t know where my camera was, and by the time we could pull over, we had gone past most of the scenic area. It was different from all the other beautiful byways we had seen and as you know, we have seen a lot. In God’s world, no two things are exactly alike right? I am back in the state of gratitude and back in the state of Texas. It has its own unique beauty as does South Dakota. No two snow flakes are alike either.  Kip’s sister sent me this picture taken yesterday. She lives in Greeley, Colorado.

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Saturday morning 

It’s all relative..Huh dogs?..dogs?? They should be happy they don’t live in Sioux Falls, SD. I just heard on the news they are having a deadly blizzard. Come on dogs..It’s time for our walk. It’s cold, but it didn’t freeze

“MOMMA MILK MY GOAT”

Goodbye El Paso…No dog run…You get Zippo!

 

 

It has been a while since I’ve experienced a rapid transfer of photos from my camera to the blog. I’ve whined and complained all week, but it’s all about the pictures. Photographs of all the places we’ve been, and all the family and friends we have seen are what’s important. Who likes a story without lots of pictures to go with it?

We’ve just had a great couple of days with a fellow Murdo girl and her husband, and I have high-speed Internet at my fingertips. I’m good to go.

We left Camp Verde on Sunday, and drove to Peoria, AZ to see Jim and Patty Arnieri. We had the most enjoyable time with this fun and hospitable couple, and it all happened because of the Murdo Girl stories. The reconnecting with old family friends, and meeting new people is a byproduct of the blog that I love the most. I never in a million years could have anticipated all the fun I would have because “one day” I decided to write down my memories of growing up in Murdo, SD.

Me, Paul Thomas, Ralph Thomas, Jerry Elrod, Patti Dykstra Arnieri, Judy Dykstra Brown, and Valerie Leckey Halla..in Murdo for the All School Reunion last July

As the story goes, I wanted to keep writing until I had squeezed every last memory I had out of my already squished to the pulp brain. I knew eventually, I would run out of material. Early on in this whole phenomenal experience, I started getting some comments on my blog from Judy Dykstra Brown. I didn’t realize who she was at first, because the comments showed up under the name of Judy’s blog, Lifelessons. I soon made the connection. Judy is such an accomplished and talented person, and I was excited to know she was enjoying the Murdo Girl stories. She had learned about the blog from her sister Patti, who graduated from Murdo High School a year before my brother Billy. Patti and Billy have remained good friends and have kept in touch since high school.

I found it rather funny when Judy, and then Patti, said they didn’t remember that much about me. I was Billy’s little sister, who was just kind of there. Judy asked me if I knew our Dads used to recite Shakespeare to each other. I do recall Dad quoting Shakespeare, and it’s fun to picture the two of them, (a plumbing contractor and a rancher), “To be or not to be (ing)” to each other.

Billy and me when I was just kind of there

Anyway, we all reconnected as a result of Murdo Girl, and I had two more Murdoites to share memories with. When Patti and Jim learned about the trip we had planned, they invited Kip and me to come and see them. I found myself really wanting to take them up on it. They are a fun and interesting couple to say the least. They have a beautiful home in Peoria, AZ. where they spend the winter months, and they live in Sheridan, WY. the remainder of the year.

We talked.. ate great food.. and told stories. We laughed again at stories we had heard a million times, and shared a few the others hadn’t heard before. We were fascinated by the many hobbies Jim has, from skeet shooting, to his photography, and interest in cars. Kip said several times, “Oh, I forgot to ask Jim this, or I wanted to ask him that. He is knowledgeable about so many things.” He told us about growing up in Sheridan, WY. He would often ride his bike out to the airport and he got to be friends with some of the pilots. Soon they started inviting him to fly places with them. He thought of himself as a copilot in training. Times were different then. He would go home for dinner and when his mother asked him what he had done that day, he might say, “I flew to Denver.”

It almost always proves to be a small world. Jim, Patti, and Kip all went to the University of Wyoming in Laramie. They knew a lot of the same people and spent some time comparing who knew what about whom. Judy also graduated from the same college.

I began tonight by telling you how important it is to have a lot of photos to accompany my log of events. I must have been having a really great time, because I forgot to take pictures until after dinner the last night we were there. We ate at their club, which is absolutely beautiful. Kip snapped a picture of Patti and me. When I looked at it, I noticed my bangs were parted funny, so I told him to take another one. The bangs still didn’t hang right, so he had to take that one over too. Patti decided she would take care of my problem. Here is what happened.

Well, now you have seen all the pictures of our time together. Don’t look at them too long. It will give you a headache.

Same pictures a little slower

Judy and Patti remembered my story about going to Mack’s Cafe after school every day to have a Bing and a Coke. My friends Marlene, Karen, and Josephine, were usually with me. As I wrote the story, I started really obsessing about those Bings I loved so much. I assumed they didn’t make them anymore. At least I hadn’t seen them in years.

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When we got to Patti and Jim’s, Patti said she and Judy had come up with an idea and she had a surprise for me. She handed me a big red bag FULL OF BINGS!!

I have eaten 6 twin packs of cherry mash covered in milk chocolate and crushed peanuts and I still have lots more. The only thing I’m missing is a Coke, and I plan to take care of that tomorrow. They are to die for! Yum, Yum, Yum.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

About that running out of Murdo Girl material… Judy suggested that I didn’t have to stop writing when I ran out of growing up memories. I will always be from Murdo. I was raised there as were so many on both sides of my family. Twenty-five of us graduated from Murdo High School. Whatever I write, will most likely have a Murdo connection, so I guess it’s okay to call my blog and myself Murdo Girl.

Thanks Judy…It doesn’t get much better than this!

I’ve been sitting here for hours on end. The Internet won’t save or send. Why are you doing this I cry, to cyber waves up in the sky. What did you say? I’m not high tech? I don’t know how to use spellcheck? I once again look at my phone. Alas, no signal bars have shown.

 The Brick House can’t go unattended. Before long it will be upended. Murdo Girl needs her town. She can’t let her people down! You really should do what she says. She’s Murdo’s very own Next Pres. Her Cabinet with no top shelf, will soon disintegrate itself.  My heart begins to palpitate. Will a lack of cell towers seal my fate? 

Hey Val..Kip photo bombed our selfie.

A thought creeps into my mind. How could I have been so blind? I know why I’ve lost my powers. I’ve been collecting “water towers.” Is collecting cell towers the key? Why must they be so ugh-e-ly?

(A small sampling of my collection.)

Now what about Connie’s story, with Pearl and Grace and all their glory? They can’t write what happens next. They would soon be too perplexed. Hope and Warren need me, I shout! I must spell their future out!  Connie is Hope’s friend forever. They need more time to spend together

Wait! Just as I feel my head exploding. I see a picture is uploading. First one then two, now there’s seven.  Am I back in cyber heaven?

Should I forgive? I have no choice. In cyberspace I have no voice. I’ll send this poem for the net to care for. That’s what Al Gore put it there for!

I’ll trust again without exception. Just please give me a strong connection.

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I want to tell everyone, every single thing we’ve done. Life on the road fills us with pride. It surely has been quite a ride. There’s more than all the scenery. It’s the friends and family we see. We’re here today and gone tomorrow; arrive excited leave with sorrow. We can’t always be together, but the memories will last forever.