The Okie Legacy
Oakie's Heart To Heart

21 July 2001, Vol. III, Iss. 29

Ooops! I've been Hoaxed...

"At the prodding of my friends, I am writing this story. My name is Mildred Hondorf. I am a former elementary school music teacher from DeMoines, Iowa. I've always supplemented my income by teaching piano lessons--something I've done for over 30 years. Over the years I found that children have many levels of musical ability. I've never had the pleasure of having a protégée. Though, I have taught some talented students. However I've also had my share of what I call "musically challenged" pupils....." -- by Mildred Hondorf

The Hondorf Story was a Lie and a Hoax!

It happens to the best of us now and then. The story about the 11-year-old boy and the piano teacher has been removed from my Vol. III, Iss. 28, newsletter because a friend did some online investigating and found the following information on the Mildred Hondorf Story which appears to be one of those Hoax & Lies... Urban Legands Reference Pages.

The Lie -Hondorf, Mildred... "There is no record of a Mildred Hondorf, but if she existed, and she was a school teacher, surely she could spell 'Des Moines' (the spelling has been corrected in some versions of the lie, but it was misspelled as we've shown it in the original).

The Mozart concerto in question is known for being exceptionally difficult; we have found one report of a public performance by a 10-year-old, but it is beyond credulity to believe that an 11-year-old with mediocre piano skills could learn it that well in a matter of weeks, without a teacher, and with a deaf mother, and play like that on the night of her death.

Four men named Robert were killed in the bombing, but there is no report of anyone playing the piano, nor would it be likely in a federal office building at the time of the bombing, 9:02 on a Wednesday morning.

As far as can be determined, only one of those four men served in the Gulf War, and that one was killed, not in the Murrah Building, but in a building across the street."

Capulin Volcano National Monument...

Northern New Mexico's National monument resides just north of Capulin off of US64, 5.5 miles. It is a 2-mile drive up the spiral road to the top of the mountain that rises over 1000 feet.

The historical marker that sets at the corner in Capulin, NM reads, "Capulin's volcano is an outstanding example of an extinct volcanic cinder cone. Capulin Mountain was formed as early as 10,000 years ago. In cinder cones, lava pours from cracks in the base rather than over the top. Capulin itself was the excape hatch for gases that blew lava fragments into the air where they solidified and landed red hot on the cone."

Have you ever wanted to walk to the bottom of a volcano and get a close-up veiw of the crater? You can do just that at the Capulin Volcano. The drive to the top of the mountain takes you up a spiraling narrow, blacktop road to over 8500 feet elevation. You can park in the parking lot on top and walk down the 0.2 mile path to the center of the crater of the volcano. You can also take the paths that lead around the rim of the volcano. The view looking down from the mountain was another breathe taking view. You could see a birds-eye view for miles and miles.

Oakie's NW Corner...

This week found me moving one of my sons to our Horse Farm in Colorado. It was a vacation from the scorching temperatures that have been reigning over the heartland states the last few weeks of July. The Colorado Mountains were a cooling effect on the soul and body. I almost hated to return back to the Oklahoma heat, but my ties brought me back home safely.

Some of the scenes I found along the journey was the Cimarron county courthouse, in Boise City, Oklahoma, on US64.

Our Nation's capitol isn't the only one that has circle drives such as Dupont circle.

If you drive out in No Mans land and Cimarron County, you will come to the center of downtown Boise City, Oklahoma with a one-way street that takes you in a circle around the Cimarron County courthouse.

Speaking of No Mans Land, Just before I got to the border of Oklahoma and New Mexico I found this roadside sign in a rest area on the northside of US64. I also collected a nail in my right rear tire and found out about it twelve miles later about 5 miles east of Clayton, New Mexico. My Triple-A road service came to the rescue and I was on my way again.

After leaving Clayton, New Mexico on 11 July, I arrived in Springer, NM in the early evening and was greeted with a gentle rain shower. I also found this mural of the Santa Fe Trail painted on the side of a business on the east/west street in downtown Springer, NM. Springer is a small community located off of Exit 412 and Interstate 25.

14th of July, the last night in the cool, Colorado mountains we were given a marvelous evening (8:14pm) gift. From a distance, I did get a halfway decent snapshot of this blackish/brown cub bear that came part way down the mountain south, behind the cabin where we were staying. The bear was caught in the act of moving a rock out of the way and digging something from the trunk of a tree. One of the pictures that I took shows the demon eyes of the bear as he looked towards me before he headed back up the mountain on a northwesterly course. I really wasn't that close to him. It was taken with my telephoto digital camera. If you click on the first photo, you can see the bear retreating back up the mountainside.

-- Linda - "Oakie"

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