Today the snow swept through parts of New England. As I looked out on the terrain, it reminded me of years past, the calm of life and of course, Hell freezing over.
Virginia Muise, believed the oldest resident of New England and the 31st oldest person in the world, died Nov. 2 at a nursing home in North Haverhill, N.H. She was 111, and had lived to see her beloved Boston Red Sox win the World Series twice -- the first time in 1918, the second a week before she died.
Her regional and worldwide ranking in longevity has been verified by the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group, which tracks "super-centenarians," or those older than 110. Mrs. Muise had lost her hearing and normally used a wheelchair because of arthritis, but could still walk short distances.
Mrs. Muise always kept a Red Sox cap on the nightstand by her bed and was delighted by the baseball team's World Series victory. Until her health deteriorated, she had been a regular at Fenway Park.
Mrs. Muise was born on July 27, 1893, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where her family ran a rooming house.
She was 18 when the Titanic sank in April 1912. Accompanying her dockworker father to the Halifax port, she watched Titanic survivors disembark from rescue ships and saw hundreds of victims' coffins stacked along the wharf like cordwood.
Recalling another historic disaster, she once said bluntly: "The whole city blew out its windows." Mrs. Muise was referring to the 1917 explosion of an ammunition ship in Halifax Harbor that killed 2,000 people and leveled two square kilometers of the city -- considered the largest man-made explosion in history prior to the detonation of the atomic bomb.
Her husband, Charles, was a blacksmith who died at 94 in 1977. Although the two were not relatives, each had the common French-Canadian surname Muise.
The family moved to Boston in 1923, and Mrs. Muise immediately became interested in the Red Sox, who were still basking in their glory as the 1918 World Series champions. Lured partially by discount tickets for women that were prevalent in that era, she became a faithful baseball fan who attended almost every game.
A housekeeper and cook in Canada, Mrs. Muise in 1923 became manager of the cafeteria at the former Boston Lying-In Hospital, a position she held until her retirement in 1958.
Her son, Gordon Muise, 81, said his mother was far prouder of her pioneering professional achievement than of being the oldest person in New England. But that didn't keep anyone else from appreciating her longevity.
In July 2003, New Hampshire Gov. Craig Benson proclaimed her 110th birthday "Virginia Muise Day" and issued a proclamation reading:
Besides her son Gordon, Mrs. Muise is survived by another son, John; daughters Margaret Doucet and Edith Murphy; 18 grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.
Great article raf-it points to the loyalty and type of people that the Red Sox draw--and as many people have told me in the last few weeks now that 'it' has finally happened many can die in peace.
It still seems like a dream and I have rewatched the videos to make sure that it still happens, I find it difficult to keep the smile off my face these days and find myself singing or humming "Dirty Water" ( a great song about Boston that they play at Sox game) quite a few times a day.
Im a newcomer compared to that lady only waiting since my first game ( a Yankee game by the way) in June of 66.
Its sweet --real sweet, a giant weight has lifted - - no more taunts from Yankee fans, no more 1918 chants, no more reruns of Bucky Dents homerun, the ball going through Buckner's legs, Boggs crying in the dugout in 86, or feelings of impending doom during the playoffs. No more kicking, clawing and scratching for every last inch in the fight to gain respect., all replaced with a miracle of a comeback, day after day after day after day, with a new twist and a new turn and a new contributor every day.
I hope someone with some ability records all the fine threads of the tapestry of this season that came together. Its pretty cool, families and friends have reunited around this and even in cemetaries around New England there are pennants waving with signs like-'They did it Daddy'
As for me, it all went by in a blur and it will take me all winter for it to sink in I'm sure..by incredibly good luck I have gotten to lay my fingerprints on the World Series Trophy- which is something that I cant express in words...Its symbolic but Its a brand new way of looking at things, full of more possibility than I had ever envisioned...
Ok enough of this self indulgent chatter..I need some baseball.....anybody got a winter league your following?
A few pages back Simon was hoping that someone was chronicling this whole miracle and could do it justice--
Well we'll start with Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan who have been Sox fans as long as I have and from all accounts are pretty good story tellers---maybe it takes writers with a sense of the supernatural to understand ---
The book comes out on December 1st and you can bet damn near every stocking in New England will have a copy in it come Christmas day.
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Shellon
When did this happen?
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Last week now, Shell...where've you been???
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Been here, just messin with Paw
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hey wacky, have you heard from mstar ? he isn't still parading is he ??????
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pawtucket
Today the snow swept through parts of New England. As I looked out on the terrain, it reminded me of years past, the calm of life and of course, Hell freezing over.
The Red Sox WON the World Series!!!!!!!!
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Raf
VIRGINIA MUISE, 111, DEVOUT RED SOX FAN
By Myrna Oliver Los Angeles Times
Virginia Muise, believed the oldest resident of New England and the 31st oldest person in the world, died Nov. 2 at a nursing home in North Haverhill, N.H. She was 111, and had lived to see her beloved Boston Red Sox win the World Series twice -- the first time in 1918, the second a week before she died.
Her regional and worldwide ranking in longevity has been verified by the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group, which tracks "super-centenarians," or those older than 110. Mrs. Muise had lost her hearing and normally used a wheelchair because of arthritis, but could still walk short distances.
Mrs. Muise always kept a Red Sox cap on the nightstand by her bed and was delighted by the baseball team's World Series victory. Until her health deteriorated, she had been a regular at Fenway Park.
Mrs. Muise was born on July 27, 1893, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where her family ran a rooming house.
She was 18 when the Titanic sank in April 1912. Accompanying her dockworker father to the Halifax port, she watched Titanic survivors disembark from rescue ships and saw hundreds of victims' coffins stacked along the wharf like cordwood.
Recalling another historic disaster, she once said bluntly: "The whole city blew out its windows." Mrs. Muise was referring to the 1917 explosion of an ammunition ship in Halifax Harbor that killed 2,000 people and leveled two square kilometers of the city -- considered the largest man-made explosion in history prior to the detonation of the atomic bomb.
Her husband, Charles, was a blacksmith who died at 94 in 1977. Although the two were not relatives, each had the common French-Canadian surname Muise.
The family moved to Boston in 1923, and Mrs. Muise immediately became interested in the Red Sox, who were still basking in their glory as the 1918 World Series champions. Lured partially by discount tickets for women that were prevalent in that era, she became a faithful baseball fan who attended almost every game.
A housekeeper and cook in Canada, Mrs. Muise in 1923 became manager of the cafeteria at the former Boston Lying-In Hospital, a position she held until her retirement in 1958.
Her son, Gordon Muise, 81, said his mother was far prouder of her pioneering professional achievement than of being the oldest person in New England. But that didn't keep anyone else from appreciating her longevity.
In July 2003, New Hampshire Gov. Craig Benson proclaimed her 110th birthday "Virginia Muise Day" and issued a proclamation reading:
Besides her son Gordon, Mrs. Muise is survived by another son, John; daughters Margaret Doucet and Edith Murphy; 18 grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.
Los Angeles Times is a Tribune Co. newspaper
Publication Date: Thursday, November 11, 2004
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mstar1
Great article raf-it points to the loyalty and type of people that the Red Sox draw--and as many people have told me in the last few weeks now that 'it' has finally happened many can die in peace.
It still seems like a dream and I have rewatched the videos to make sure that it still happens, I find it difficult to keep the smile off my face these days and find myself singing or humming "Dirty Water" ( a great song about Boston that they play at Sox game) quite a few times a day.
Im a newcomer compared to that lady only waiting since my first game ( a Yankee game by the way) in June of 66.
Its sweet --real sweet, a giant weight has lifted - - no more taunts from Yankee fans, no more 1918 chants, no more reruns of Bucky Dents homerun, the ball going through Buckner's legs, Boggs crying in the dugout in 86, or feelings of impending doom during the playoffs. No more kicking, clawing and scratching for every last inch in the fight to gain respect., all replaced with a miracle of a comeback, day after day after day after day, with a new twist and a new turn and a new contributor every day.
I hope someone with some ability records all the fine threads of the tapestry of this season that came together. Its pretty cool, families and friends have reunited around this and even in cemetaries around New England there are pennants waving with signs like-'They did it Daddy'
As for me, it all went by in a blur and it will take me all winter for it to sink in I'm sure..by incredibly good luck I have gotten to lay my fingerprints on the World Series Trophy- which is something that I cant express in words...Its symbolic but Its a brand new way of looking at things, full of more possibility than I had ever envisioned...
Ok enough of this self indulgent chatter..I need some baseball.....anybody got a winter league your following?
who's pitchin' tonight?
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excathedra
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mstar1
Indeed it was
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mstar1
A few pages back Simon was hoping that someone was chronicling this whole miracle and could do it justice--
Well we'll start with Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan who have been Sox fans as long as I have and from all accounts are pretty good story tellers---maybe it takes writers with a sense of the supernatural to understand ---
The book comes out on December 1st and you can bet damn near every stocking in New England will have a copy in it come Christmas day.
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Biblefan Dave
I have already no problems with the Red Sox winning a World Series every 86 years.
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