Concord Can't Close Cold Case

Jim Greer of Concord, MA was an executive for The Raytheon Company (a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics). The company has a planned shutdown for the first two weeks of July. The Greer family was on Cape Cod as the race for President in 1964 heated up.

It rankled some of the youngsters in the neighborhood that the Greer family had life so easy. The two cars in the yard, the freshly painted house, and a bumper sticker supporting Barry Goldwater on the fancy gray Rolls Royce was too much for David Baker, Ted Murphy and Danny Hurstak. With the family away for a few weeks, why not bring show them a thing or two about politics in Massachusetts? Two extremely large LBJ 64 signs were sprayed on the hood and trunk of the polished Rolls Royce.

In modern times, paint (particularly spray paint) and marker pens have become the most commonly used graffiti materials. In most countries, marking or painting property without the property owner's permission is considered defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime.

All the mothers of the boys, Elizabeth Hurstak, Evelyn Baker and Helen Murphy, may have all been complicit in "SprayGate." The mothers did purchase some paint thinner and ordered the boys to rub the paint off the Rolls Royce, but the oil based primer that the boys used would not budge. The women laughed when the Greers returned from their vacation. The family was aghast when they witnessed the damage.

The local police heard through the grapevine about the destruction on Garden Rd. and dispatched two rookie cops to assess the situation. Danny Hurstak, a future United States Marine, did the talking for the group. He was easily able to hoodwink the young policemen and the investigation was closed shortly, thereafter.

While the statute of limitations has long expired for Baker and Murphy, it is possible for charges to still be filed. Charges were brought against Hurstak because he moved out of state to Hawaii in 1978. Under state law, the statute of limitations is suspended if a person moves out of state, meaning charges could still be filed decades after the alleged incident.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley had no comment on the case. It is not out of the realm of possibility that Hurstak will cower and turn state's evidence against choirboys, Baker and Murphy. Danny Hurstak became a successful businessman in the 50th state, and clearly would not want his past criminal behavior to surface.

When asked why he did not call the police, Jim Greer replied, "I didn't want those hooligans to deep six my other vehicle in the Concord River, which was just two blocks away."

Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

Florida State football reaches alltime low

How far will a school go to protect a star athlete from rape allegations? Ask Florida State.

Our film The Hunting Ground and the New York Times have already detailed the extent of FSU’s derailment of Jameis Winston’s rape case, but a recently released, explosive deposition shows how top-level administrators were actively involved in this cover-up.

The Tampa Bay Times published the complete testimony of FSU Victim Advocate Director Melissa Ashton that was given in the just-settled case of Erica Kinsman versus Florida State University. Ashton’s testimony revealed that:

1. Jameis Winston (now the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) has been identified in the sexual assaults of two women, and
2. The Florida State Chief of Police and the Dean of Students colluded to stop the investigations of Winston.

FSU’s victim advocate office had 113 sexual assault reports over 2014, yet FSU’s administration reported only 14 sexual assaults to the federal government. QB Jameis Winston Winston won the Heisman Trophy and in early January, 2014 led his team to the national championship.

Florida State opened the 2016 season at home against the Ole Miss Rebels. Trailing 21-6 at halftime, head coach Jimbo Fisher had Jameis Winston give the Seminoles a pep talk. The speech worked to perfection, and Florida State rallied, winning easily, 45-34. A 52-8 win against creampuff, Charlestown Southern gave the Noles a 2-0 record. They held the number two ranking in the NCAA College Football poll.

On the road against upstart University of Louisville this past Saturday, the wheels came off the bandwagon. Louisville QB Lamar Jackson accounted for five touchdowns, and a 35-10 halftime lead reached 63-10 in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals made no attempt to increase the 53 point margin. Florida State scored a TD with just five minutes remaining to close the gap to 63-17. If the score held, it would supposedly be the worst loss in Florida State football history.

With two minutes remaining in Saturday's contest, Louisville punted to Florida State. The Seminoles mounted a drive into Louisville territory that reached the 16 yard line. 51 seconds were left on the clock at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium when FSU kicker Ricky Aguayo booted a 33 yard field goal to make the final score, 63-20.

Florida State was under the assumption that a 45 point loss was their worst beating ever. The Seminoles worst loss remains 49-0 to Florida in 1973. The loss Saturday was the worst since 47-0 to Miami in 1976, in Bobby Bowden's second season as the Seminoles head coach.

The word on the street for Florida State fans used to be that " they would have one shirt and a 20 dollar bill, and change neither for the weekend." The team, when faced with adversity, is not even at that level.


Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

Trot Nixon used all 24 hours on 9/11

Trot Nixon, then an outfielder with the Boston Red Sox, was in Florida where the team was to play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. But Nixon had made the team aware that he might at a moment's notice to attend the birth of his child. He received the call he was waiting for from his wife in Boston at 6 a.m. on Sept. 11. He got on a 7:05 a.m. flight to Boston. But he wasn't going to get back to Boston by air on this day.

The flight was forced to land in Norfolk, Va. He called his wife, Kathryn, to tell her that he would not be able to be on hand for the birth of their child, but be with her in labor. He did not think he could be completely specific about the tragedy that had disrupted travel.

The airline pilot came on the intercom and said we are going to have ground our flight in Norfolk, Virginia. There has been an unfortunate tragedy in New York. And he said the terrorist attacked. He didn't relinquish that it was two airplanes crashing into the towers.

"So the plane did a U-turn -- you know a quick turn -- and started heading back. Meanwhile, as I read stories this past year, a lot of the flight attendant and airline pilots were kind of not so much scared, but didn't know what to expect, didn't know if there was someone on our flight or not. None of the passengers paid any attention to it.

"Then Kathryn called me. I remember it was 1:32 p.m. and she told me we had a little baby boy, Chase," Nixon said. "I started crying. I am not afraid to cry. She put him up to the phone. He was screaming and yelling. It was awesome. Just to hear him was a relief. To know that Kathryn was fine and everything went well during the delivery, and the baby was healthy. He's got 10 fingers, 10 toes -- everything that you sit there and pray day in and day out that you have a healthy baby."

The one fortunate part of the story was that Nixon had family in the area. He recruited his mother, father and sister to drive with him to Boston. There were highway closings and related complications along the way, and Nixon had only two hours of sleep the previous night after traveling to Tampa. But Nixon got to Boston about 3 a.m. the next day, and he got to hold his newborn son. In the midst of a day of death and devastation, his family had been given the gift of life.

"We will not forget what happened that day," said Trot Nixon. "We will not forget the people -- the men and women who sacrificed their lives to save others, who where there working 24 hours a day, seven days a week since it happened. We will honor those people. But we are also going to treat it as a celebration of Chase's birthday."

Chase Nixon is now 15 years old. Let's hope he has the same fine career as his father, and famous relative, James "Catfish" Hunter. Catfish had a Hall of Fame career as a pitcher for the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. He died at 53 of ALS(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

We can handle the truth if we hear it

The Toronto Blue Jays named Tim Johnson as their manager for the 1998 season following the firing of Cito Gaston and the interim management of pitching coach Mel Queen. Queen remained on as pitching coach under Johnson and the two reportedly feuded extensively, despite Johnson's reputation as a good communicator. Johnson also had rumored differences with several of his players, including Pat Hentgen, Ed Sprague, and Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens.

It was revealed that Johnson lied about horrific experiences in Vietnam, when in fact there was no truth to them at all. And not only did Tim Johnson fabricate lies about his experiences in Vietnam, but he also lied about being an All-American basketball player who turned down a chance to play for UCLA.

One of the incidents in question was when Tim Johnson opted to use Rogers Clemens instead of Pat Hentgen to pitch a series finale in Boston. After Hentgen responded unfavorably, Johnson quipped back saying something to the effect of “you don’t know anything about tough spots … pressure is in Vietnam.”

Of all people, it was actually Roger Clemens who discovered Tim Johnson’s secret. At the time, Clemens was a good friend of Johnson; and knowing of his wartime stories and that he was a big motorcycle fan, wanted to get him a present any veteran would be honored to receive – a motorcycle helmet featuring the logo of his combat unit.

Roger Clemens asked around trying to gather some background info on Tim Johnson, to no avail. Clemens even went as far as to ask Johnson’s wife, but she apparently knew nothing about it. And that was the beginning of the end of Tim Johnson’s time with the Blue Jays

Ryan Lochte admitted in an embarrassing interview with NBC's Matt Lauer that he fabricated parts of his story that he was robbed at gunpoint while in Rio de Janeiro. "I over-exaggerated that story and if I had never done that, we wouldn't be in this mess. " The claim created a minor international incident and caused Lochte to lose a number of sponsorships.

"None of this would have happened," Lochte added about the aftermath in which three of his fellow swimmers were questioned by Brazilian police and one was ordered to donate nearly $11,000 to a Brazilian charity.

New England Patriots QB Tom Brady returned to practice after sitting out three days due to a clubhouse mishap. Brady cut his right thumb with a pair of scissors while cleaning his spikes. The accident occurred one hour prior to the exhibition game at Gillette Stadium against the Chicago Bears

The NFC Title game between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco was played on January 10, 1982. The game featured "The Catch" by wide receiver Dwight Clark at the back of the endzone on the pass thrown by QB Joe Montana. The touchdown reception gave the 49ers the lead with 58 seconds to play. San Francisco held on for an exciting 28-27 victory, and a trip to the Super Bowl.

Four year old Tom Brady claimed he was at the 1982 NFC Title game, and he was in the stands in the endzone where Clark made the miraculous catch.

I guess Roger Clemens isn't the only one who "misremembers" important moments in history.


Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

It Ain't Over Til The Fat Lady Sings

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking service. Founded on December 14, 2002, and launched on May 5, 2003 it is mainly used for professional networking. As of 2015, most of the site's revenue came from selling access to information about its users to recruiters and sales professionals. As of March 2016, LinkedIn has more than 433 million accounts, out of which more than 106 million are active.

One can meet all kinds of interesting people while networking through LinkedIn. I have become friendly with Jack Welch, the former chairman and CEO of General Electric. He is one of the few big shots who will actually send a reply if somebody sends him a response.

My friend, Richard Grande called me in early March of 1982. Richard was aware that I was part of a group of four who had season tickets to the Boston Celtics. He had two tickets in his possession, but was hoping to purchase an additional pair to reach his allotment of four. He had a client who was flying in from France who had never attended a professional game. At the time, the Boston Celtics were reigning NBA Champions, having defeated the Houston Rockets in six games the prior June.

I went to work on this matter for Richard right away. I struck out with two of the ticket holders who told me they would be attending the Sunday matinee at the Boston Garden between the Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics. With my ticket and the one from Greg Liddell, I could get what Richard coveted.

Greg had recently moved to South Carolina, but kept his apartment in Waltham just in case the new job didn’t work out. I left a message on his answering machine, and his roommate called me back. He gave me the phone number of the hotel where Greg was staying. I called the front desk and left a message.

It was Thursday night when Greg returned my call. He said I could have his ticket in exchange for a future game. The only problem was that the ticket was in his locked apartment and his roommate was skiing in Vermont. Greg gave me his landlord’s phone number. The message went to voicemail.

The landlord returned my call on Friday morning. He said that he could meet me by 4PM. After that, he was gone for the weekend. I told him I would call back. I called the Waltham District Court where my friend Tom Boardman was a court officer. Luckily, he answered. I gave him the landlord’s phone number and he called and setup a time for them to meet.

A few hours went by, and I called the Court, again. Tom had done his part. He would drop the ticket off for me, and I would owe him a case of beer.

I was delivering for Federal Express in Portsmouth, NH. I had a package for a job site that was getting ready to blast rock so that a new bridge could be built. I was 50 feet above the railroad tracks when I handed the package with the large drill bit to the foreman. I asked him if I could use the bag phone. I called Kidder Peabody in Boston and left a message for Richard to inform him that I would drop off the two tickets at his home on Peter Bulkeley Rd. in Concord.

I asked Jack Welch when he was going to close out the final transaction on my $32.00 worth of tickets. Kidder Peabody was purchased by General Electric in 1986, and sold to PaineWebber in 1994. I informed Jack that no money ever changed hands for that March, 14, 1982 sporting event.

I paid for all the phone calls, the case of beer and that future game payment turned out to be Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals with the hated Philadelphia 76ers. The Celtics slaughtered the Sixers, 121-81 on Mother’s Day, May 9th.

The tickets went unused when the Frenchman couldn’t make connections on his flight to America. It’s too bad because he missed a 105-92 Celtics victory.

The late, great Howard Cosell carried an uncashed $1.50 check in his wallet. He won the money in a card game from billionaire Lamar Hunt, the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs and founder of the American Football League. Howard said that “Lamar can never balance his books if I don’t cash it.”

Inflation has driven the 1982 $32.00 to today’s value of $80.52. Simple interest is money you can earn by initially investing some money (the principal). A percentage (the interest) of the principal is added to the principal, making your initial investment grow!

Good things come to those who wait.

Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

Greatest Generation rolls over after Chris Sale fiasco

When Chicage White Sox ace lefthander Chris Sale returns to his team Thursday to face the crosstown Cubs at Wrigley Field, he'll find a clubhouse a little happier than the one he left.The last time Chris Sale was in the clubhouse he was carving up $13,000. 00 worth of throw-back jerseys that were part of a marketing promotion for the Pale Hose.

You've probably heard the story by now, incredible as it still seems, and read more than a few "Scissorshands" cracks on your favorite social media outlet. Sale, unhappy that the White Sox were planning to use throwback jerseys last Saturday proceeded to methodically cut those jerseys up. He said his beef was a competitive issue. The uniforms were uncomfortable and didn't allow him to pitch at his best.

As a youngster, I would watch football games on most Sundays in the fall in our backyard. The contests were generally three on three battles between the Hurstaks(3) and the Bakers(2). There was always one outsider who was chosen to make it even. Once in awhile, the squads played four on four.

The games were held in our backyard because we had the proper dimensions for a football field. Also, my father would referee the games so that the brothers wouldn't do bodily harm to each other. Ronny and Bobby Baker were always on opposing teams. None of the players wore helmets.

On one particular Sunday, the game got a late start because church had run longer than usual. Having gotten home late, Bobby Baker decided that he would play in his white slacks rather than going home to change. He knew he would face the wrath of his mother, but he didn't care. He couldn't wait to play.

One of the first plays was a run by Bobby around the right side. As he turned up field, he was tackled out of bounds by his brother, Ronny. The sibling rivalry was a thrill to watch. The two were always looking to upstage the other. As the two players got up, all the others started laughing. The Bakers' dog, Major had visited the out of bounds area while the game was in progress. (Dog Shit - 1.) Something that is worthless and of inferior quality. 2.) Fecal excrement left by a dog).

While play was halted, Bobby ran across the street to change his pants. When his mother saw him approach the front door, she told him to "stay out of the house", and tossed a fresh pair of pants out the window. He changed the pants in broad daylight on the front lawn, and hung the soiled britches on one of the hooks on the telephone pole.

The referee put the ball back in play and the game continued.

Paper will cover it, but scissors won't.

Touch football is a variant of American football in which the basic rules are similar to those of the mainstream game (called "tackle football" for contrast), but instead of tackling players to the ground, the person carrying the ball need only be touched by a member of the opposite team to end a down.

It's okay to play with kids but don't baby them. Just because your 7-year-old niece is playing quarterback doesn't mean you can't intercept her screen pass and run it back for a touchdown. She's got to learn sometime not to throw into triple coverage. The patriotic child in the photo wearing red, white and blue is
Chris Sale.

The count is five "Mississippi." And it's a full four syllables—not a rushed "MISS-IPPI." There is not a chance that Chris Sale will ever experience a hard tackle from his brother. Maybe a two hand touch, though.


Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

Approval rating is not based on looks

An approval rating is a percentage determined by a polling which indicates the percentage of respondents to an opinion poll who approve of a particular person or program.

In October 1968, Cass Elliot made her live solo debut headlining in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace, scheduled for a three-week engagement at $40,000 per week, with two shows per night. Elliot went on a six-month long crash diet before the show, losing 100 of her 300 pounds. According to Elliot, the weight loss led to a stomach ulcer and throat problems, which she treated by drinking milk and cream (and regaining 50 pounds in the process).

Reviews were harsh. Esquire magazine called the show "a disaster" that was "heroic in proportion, epic in scope." The Los Angeles Free Press called the show "an embarrassing drag." Newsweek compared the show to the Titanic disaster.

Critics were harsh, but in the end, it was Mama Cass Elliot who won the battle. In the Behind the Music documentary on the The Mamas and the Papas, a poll was taken from male adults. The survey was based on "how comfortable a male would be in having a sandwich and a beer with a certain celebrity." Cass' approval rating amongst men was 89%.

An oft-repeated urban legend claims that Elliot choked to death on a ham sandwich. The post-mortem examination found that Elliot had died of a heart attack, and no food was found in her windpipe, yet the false story has persisted for decades.

Heidi Klum is a German model, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and occasional actress. The super model is not in the same class with Mama Cass Elliot.

In the same documentary from The Mamas and the Papas, it was revealed that Heidi Klum barely received a favorable evaluation. Her approval rating was only 54%. This was due to the fact that males could not relate to her, and would be disinterested in what she had to say.

The man in the middle with the black hat is Jack Hutchinson from Deerfield, NH. He is the architect for all the planning of the town's 250th anniversary celebration. He is the driving force in raising over $80,000.00 so the small non industrial town of 4,200 people can commemorate the community's historic birth.

The following events will take place over the upcoming weekend due to the work of the retired schoolteacher: Ham & Bean Supper, Variety Show, Cornhole Tournament, Encampments from the Revolutionary War, French and Indian War, Civil War, Excavator Rodeo, Antique Car Parade, Marching Bands, Old Timers' Baseball Game and Fireworks. If it rains, he has a Plan B. Jack's approval rating is just a shade behind Mama Cass.

Severino Trucking Co., Inc. is an excavation contractor with over 40 years of experience in road construction and site development. Working in southern New Hampshire, northeastern Massachusetts and southern Maine, our scope of work includes commercial site development, private subdivision roads, municipal road construction and NH DOT federally funded road construction.

Severino Trucking of Candia, NH just received the largest state contract for roadwork in Rochester, NH of $64 million. The Severino brothers, Ron and Tom are more than just Good Scouts. They are exceptional businessmen who value loyalty and trust in their employees. Having interviewed many Severino workers who will participate in the Deerfield 250th Excavator Rodeo, one can clearly see that they all thoroughly enjoy their work and their company.

If I could set the approval rating for Severino Trucking, it might reach three digits. As a matter of fact, if I could come out of retirement, I would choose this company over Heidi Klum, anyday.


Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy