Uncle John’s Presents Mom’s Bathtub Reader (33 page)

Sand’s love life became more discussed than her books and plays—if there’d been a
National Enquirer
in those days, she’d have certainly graced the cover. She had open affairs with well-known artitsts like poet and playwright Alfred de Musset. Always the equal opportunist, Sand even had a notorious liaison with actress Marie Dorval. Yet Sand claimed she believed in marriage as long as it was an ideal partnership between two free equals. Why settle down with less than perfection?

Sand’s perfect soulmate seemed to have finally arrived in the form of Frederic Chopin. The handsome Polish composer played piano like an angel and had a genius that Sand openly admired. Chopin was frail and often ill, but strong, robust Sand instantly felt her love would nurture and save him. Chopin, wary of Sand at first, gradually came under her spell and the couple began a celebrated affair.

The couple settled into a grand passion for nine years. Sand tended lovingly to her frail Chopin, who composed some of his greatest works while living at Nohant. Chopin seemed to have adored Sand, who wrote some of her best novels while living with him. But their love finally soured. What could have caused these two lovebirds to split? You don’t have to look any farther than home—sources say it was the kids.

Sand saw herself as a loving, devoted mother, but what with all her writing and soul-mating, a child could feel neglected. Forget sibling rivalry, both Maurice and Solange had to compete with their mother’s lovers and friends for her attention. Out of the two, Maurice had better
luck. Aurore did seem to have a blind spot for her son and forgave his faults.

As Maurice grew older, he took over as head of the household. His doting mother encouraged him to throw his weight around. He even went so far as to fire one of Chopin’s personal servants, making life harder for the ailing composer. It’s not too hard to see that this mama’s boy’s star was on the rise, while soul mate Chopin’s was on the decline.

But it was Solange who became the biggest problem between the famous lovers. She was becoming a beautiful woman and made the mistake of getting too close to Chopin. Sand may have been jealous not only of her daughter’s youth and beauty but also of her daughter’s relationship with Chopin. When Sand harped on her daughter’s faults, Chopin defended Solange against unfair criticism—which made Sand even angrier. This couldn’t continue forever.

Over Chopin’s horrified protests, Sand pushed her daughter into a bad marriage. Solange married sculptor Auguste Clesinger, a brutal and bullying man. Chopin’s predictions of catastrophe came true. When Solange and her new husband came for a visit, the creepy Clesinger decided he needed more money, so he roughed up both Sand and her darling son, Maurice, to get it.

Outraged, Sand threw out Clesinger and her daughter too. Chopin could not overlook Sand’s hardheartedness since Solange was now pregnant and Sand had introduced the smarmy sculptor into the family in the first place. Chopin appealed to the generous, loving spirit that he’d
adored in Aurore, but his lover would hear none of it. In high indignation, Sand threw Chopin out too. It was a squalid end to the great affair. Chopin died two years later, destitute and in great pain. Solange came to comfort him before he died—Sand didn’t bother.

The famous writer remained estranged from her daughter, who would eventually fall into poverty. Sand lived with and continued to dote on Maurice, who took over her estate, married, and gave her granchildren. Meanwhile, Sand continued to write about the joys of freedom, passion, and romance. So much for soul mates.

Mom’s ghost becomes a celebrity.

R
aynham Hall is the magnificent ancestral castle of the Townshends. Its most notorious occupant, the Brown Lady, came there by her marriage to Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount, in the 16th century. She is the ghost of Dorothy Walpole, sister of Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of England.

The marriage was the viscount’s second and Dorothy’s first. However, before her marriage, Dorothy had been involved with Lord Wharton, a well-known womanizer who fled England to escape his debts. Several years into the marriage, Dorothy’s old affair resurfaced as a source of tragedy. Some say the new Lady Townshend missed her old life with the no-goodnik Wharton, resumed their love affair, and her husband found out. Others say that Lord Townshend simply discovered Dorothy’s past affair with Wharton. In either case, he was horrified by her loose morals and demanded that Dorothy be locked in her apartments and kept away from the children.

Despite Dorothy’s pleas, Charles never relented. In 1726 she died, officially of smallpox. Rumors of murder persisted, from tales of her being poisoned to her being pushed down the stairs. Dorothy’s presence persisted, too. According to residents, she became the Brown Lady
(wearing a dress of brown brocade) and haunted Raynham Hall in search of her five children.

The Brown Lady became a ghostly celebrity. King George IV was staying in the Townshend castle when he awoke to find her at the foot of his bed. Recognizing her from a portrait, he immediately fled the house, saying, “Tonight I have seen that which I hope to God I never see again.” Over the centuries the Brown Lady has terrified grown men, led servants to quit, and even caused police investigations. But the motherly ghost never seemed to scare children. In 1926, Lady Townshend’s young son and his friend saw the Brown Lady, but she smiled so warmly they assumed she was a guest—until they gave the adults her description.

In 1936, Captain Provand and Indre Shira came to Raynham Hall on a photo shoot for
Country Life
magazine. Provand was focusing the camera for a shot of the staircase when Shira saw “an ethereal veiled form coming slowly down the stairs.” He yelled to Provand, who snapped a photo of a ghostly woman floating down the stairs. Though some skeptics say that this now world-famous photograph is only a double exposure, many paranormal experts believe that the Brown Lady is captured on film—caught in the act of seeking her children.

Joy Murray, a champion cowgirl, raises the “King of the Cowboys.”

W
hat kind of mother would let her baby grow up to be a cowboy? What kind of mother would put her kid on a 1,000-pound bull and watch to see if he stays on for a very long eight seconds through bucking and kicks—either of which could kill him?

Joy Myers Murray—mother of Ty Murray, “King of the Cowboys” and the only seven-time world champion Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association All-Around Cowboy in history—is no stranger to bull riding. In fact, she’s a two-time world champion bull rider herself, having won the event, as well as the all-around champion title for senior girls, in the National Little Britches Rodeo.

Born in 1942 into a rodeo family in rural Colorado, Joy Myers grew up with horses. Not only did her dad rodeo, all the kids in the family participated in Little Britches Rodeo, the Little League of the rodeo world. So it was natural for Joy to participate. A tomboy, she loved the thrill and excitement of racing horses and jumping them over barrels.

Joy liked the fun of a challenge. And what greater challenge than being judged on how well you rode eight long seconds on the back of a half-ton bucking bull? She never worried about staying on–she was having too much fun.

Not long after winning her world champion titles, Joy gave up bullriding to marry Butch Murray four days after her eighteenth birthday. The couple moved to Arizona, where Butch worked on the racehorse circuit.

Soon, the Murray family grew. First came daughter Kim. Eleven months later, daughter Kerry was born. Joy enjoyed her daughters for six years, but from the moment she was pregnant with her third, she knew this one was a boy. “Baby Ty” came home from the hospital wrapped in a blanket and wearing diapers and cowboy boots. Two years later he was riding Joy’s Singer sewing machine and declaring he was going to be a bullrider.

Joy and Butch raised their children in a traditional fashion. Butch worked at the racetrack, rode horses, and broke in colts; Joy worked at the family’s tack shop, where she sold saddles and other riding equipment and broke in the kids.

One night when the girls were in the first and second grades, Joy and Butch attended a school meeting where a policeman spoke to parents about keeping kids off drugs. Thirty-five years later, Joy still remembers one woman asking the cop, “Do you find drugs more in rich kids, poor kids, or middle-income kids?” The policeman responded: “The only pattern we found for kids using drugs is that it is more common among kids who have nothing to do.”

That did it. From that point on, the Murray kids always had something to do. Joy believed sports would keep her kids from experimenting with alcohol and drugs; rodeo was just the thing. In spite of their hard-working lifestyles,
Joy and Butch managed to get three children to different rodeos every weekend.

Joy not only took her kids to rodeo events, she also took them to school practices. Ty was also on the gymnastics and football teams, and at the end of the school day, Joy would race from the tack shop to the football field to pull up her chair and watch him practice! “I couldn’t imagine my kid doing something without us being there to watch,” Joy exclaims. She adds that the best thing she and Butch did for their children was to be there for them, to love them, and to support them.