Moonflower Quija a.k.a. Debra Goldstein

[Chris Wissmann]

Shihan Francis just got a call from a woman named Quija Moonflower
Keogh (I think I'm spelling her name correctly). He referred her to
me and we spoke for a few minutes tonight.

She worked out primarily under a student of Soke Murphy's, Michael
Strauss. Her name at the time was Debra Goldstein. She remembered
working out with Soke Murphy and him using her as a demonstration
board, so to speak, for cutting watermelons with a sword.

She's living in the Pacific northwest now, and hoping to reconnect
with Mr. Strauss, who she thinks was in Florida and working as a
stock broker. I don't have his whereabouts and in fact this was
probably the first time I've heard his name. But if anyone has a line
on him, or would like to speak with Ms. Goldstein, she assured me
that she'd welcome your calls.

Gmail Groups will cut out phone numbers, so if you want hers, let me
know and I'll send it to you individually.
--



Thanks!

Chris Wissmann,
Carbondale City Councilman

1111 West Walkup Avenue
Carbondale, IL 62901

(618) 549-2653
nigh...@midwest.net
cdale...@yahoo.com

[Bob Cusumano]

Hi Chris
I'll be glad to talk with her. Did she workout in summit/ parsippany? I don't recognize her name. Bob

Sent from my iPhone

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[Bob Cusumano]

Don't recognize Strauss either.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 10, 2013, at 10:23 PM, Chris Wissmann <nigh...@midwest.net> wrote:

[Sensei Francis]

Hello there my friends,

Happy 2013.  I hope you are all doing well.  As Mr. Chris Wissman has stated, i received an e-mail today.  Her is what i got from her.

 

"Greetings,
In 1973-76 I studied under Michael Strauss at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. Master Robert Murphy worked with us directly and we participated in many tournaments.
I have since lost touch with him and wonder if you knew/know of him?
He was a second degree black belt at that time in Isshi Shorinji Ryu. I was senior Cue.
The last time we spoke was in 1986 when he lived in Florida and I am curious as to his well being at present.
His birthday is 8/1/47... Mine is 8/1/55... :)
Thank you for your time.
~ quija
(He did not know me by this name. At that time it was Debi.)"

 

So, as you can see, there is some information to go on.  I sent her my phone number and we talked for a bit.  She seems very nice and this search is kind of sweet and romantic.  The relationship i guess was not just Sensei and student, but that of romance.  It is a very sweet story of together, separated by distance, attempts to reconnect but never happened.  here we are 35 years later and she is searching for him.  Being the romantic i am, this story caught my heart and i think it would be sweet if they were able to reconnect.  She told me that they dated as her was getting divorced.  She was his Senior Kyu Rank.  She demonstrations with him and she said most people never knew her by name, but as "Michaels Girl Friend".  She said she remembered Murphy and the demonstrations and that there was a female Black Belt who traveled with Soke Murphy.  I mentioned if Marie rank a bell, but she could not remember a name.

Well, that is all i have for now.  Keep me in the loop if any of this sounds familiar.

Thanks again and have a Blessed 2013.

Scott Francis

 

 

On Thu, Jan 10, 2013 at 9:23 PM, Chris Wissmann <nigh...@midwest.net> wrote:

Shihan Francis just got a call from a woman named Quija Moonflower Keogh (I think I'm spelling her name correctly). He referred her to me and we spoke for a few minutes tonight.

She worked out primarily under a student of Soke Murphy's, Michael Strauss. Her name at the time was Debra Goldstein. She remembered working out with Soke Murphy and him using her as a demonstration board, so to speak, for cutting watermelons with a sword.

She's living in the Pacific northwest now, and hoping to reconnect with Mr. Strauss, who she thinks was in Florida and working as a stock broker. I don't have his whereabouts and in fact this was probably the first time I've heard his name. But if anyone has a line on him, or would like to speak with Ms. Goldstein, she assured me that she'd welcome your calls.

Gmail Groups will cut out phone numbers, so if you want hers, let me know and I'll send it to you individually.
--



Thanks!

Chris Wissmann,
Carbondale City Councilman

1111 West Walkup Avenue
Carbondale, IL 62901

(618) 549-2653
nigh...@midwest.net
cdale...@yahoo.com

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[Bob Cusumano]

Ok this makes sense. I'm sure my brother knows him. He taught at Fairleigh. Bob

Sent from my iPhone

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[mma]

Ah, yes, Debbie. And Mike Strauss. East Hanover dojo, Mike was
assigned to be the teacher there along with Gerry Racciopi.

Mike was a relatively new black belt, wasn't really part of the
Parsippany crowd much. He and Debbie were very much an 'item' but
being a small dojo and relatively short-lived, it remained within East
Hanover. I don't remember Debbie going beyond green belt.

One of the most teachable Mike Strauss moments was his relating his
mugging at (I believe)a train station. Soke listened intently as
Mike talked about his attempts to execute forward kicks, with no
results. Then it came to him, he was backing up at the time! Once
he got his mind and soul committed, Mike committed to a beautiful and
very effective front kick that ended his assault. It was a perfect
example of book-learning vs reality!

Mike and Debbie made an incredibly handsome couple, both very good
looking and low-keyed.

I am not at all surprised that she carries the name she does now.

So interesting!

Marie

[Chris Wissmann]

How cool! I can't remember if I knew that Soke Murphy set up other
dojos for his students to run.

I did a quick search for the name of Gerry Racciopi. Was he a
dentist, per chance? That was the most common result. I also found a
piano instructor by that name.

[mma]

Gerald Racciopi was a top mechanic at Slegers-Forbes motorcycles when
Malcolm Forbes had invested heavily in the existing, and very
well-known, Hank Slegers motorcycles.

Gerry had this amazing ability to diagnose and fix anything, and he
encouraged the opening of a small, store-front dojo right down the
road from his parents' home where he was living at the time. He did
all of the renovation. It was small, but very functional and cozy.

Gerry married, I believe her name was Heidi but that was a long time
ago. He moved to northern NJ to a house with property, where he
could put his renovation talents to work. I don't know where he
would be now. Unless he radically changed direction, I don't think
he'd be a dentist but 'ya never know!

Marie

On 1/11/13, Chris Wissmann <nigh...@midwest.net> wrote:
> How cool! I can't remember if I knew that Soke Murphy set up other
> dojos for his students to run.
>
> I did a quick search for the name of Gerry Racciopi. Was he a
> dentist, per chance? That was the most common result. I also found a
> piano instructor by that name.
>
>

[Carl Wighardt]

I know I don't participate much on these emails but Marie's comment of "It
was a perfect example of book-learning vs reality!" brings back a lot of
memories of when either I or other students tried to tell Soke a story or an
'AHA!' moment we had and the distinct look Soke had... Kind of a knowingly
pleased look where he is truly happy you came to the thought on your own but
at the same time wants to know what you are going to do with the knowledge
you just gained.

Thanks for that memory Marie! You made a not so wonderful week seem much
better now.

Carl

[Bob Cusumano]

Great comment. He was a great teacher indeed. Through all my years in the martial arts I haven't seen anyone who has come close. Bob C.

Sent from my iPhone

[Sensei Francis]

I personally think we should all get together every year and promote Bob Cusumano another degree.  He is a good sport and thinks about as much of himself as i think of him.  Lets change the location every year though so we all get to see each others home turf.  I will call Bob Super Shihan.....plus, he is one of my favorite Karate Cousin Bastards.... :-)  However, he has no romantic interests other than his wife and they are already united..  I love the romantic story that started this blog.  I appreciate hearing from you all.  Things are well in Sandwich.  I will be more current in the future. 

Take care my friends and congratulations to Bob on his 5th....next year 6th.... :-)

Love you my brother...

Scott

[Chris Wissmann]

Whoa! Did someone earn a promotion?

[Sensei Francis]

No, no promotions Chris.....i was giving Bob a hard time.... :-)

I was looking at those pictures the other day of Bobs promotion and our get together.  What a great time that was.  I wish we could have reunions like that every year.

Anyway, back to the blog.

Chris, were you going to get back in touch with Quija Moonflower Keogh or did you want me to call her and or e-mail her back.

Let me know.

She was a treat to talk to.

Take care,

Scott

[Chris Wissmann]

She and I talked and exchanged emails. I Googled Mike Strauss and Gerry Racciopi, but didn't find anything concrete, though a couple searches for Sensei Racciopi looked promising. I gave her a few ideas of where to search, so hopefully that was productive advice. I think the Shihans Cusumano also have been in touch. But I'll keep looking when I get the opportunity and with a little luck something will pop up.

Here's a photo she sent to me, with the caption: "My sister in front, me knife handing it to her... practicing on the beach :) I was 18 at the time.   Location, unknown, but presumably New Jersey."

[Chris Wissmann]

I just had the most unexpected encounter.

Our puppy, Hermione, is certainly going to Hell. An AKC-certified Ornery Little Shyster, she's always escaping the fence, bringing things into the house (branches, dead animals), and destroying everything she can fit into her jaws (favorites include my wife's cellphone-charger and a really expensive Bose remote control). We took her this afternoon, along with our other dog, Harry Potter, to the Blessing of the Animals, in an attempt to shield her soul from the fires of eternal damnation.

One of the ministers looked at the patch on my jacket and said, "Isshin Shorinji Ryu," and then said, "Oh, yeah, there it is— I didn't see the Romanji"— the English lettering on the bottom.

His name is Brian Wilkes, and as it turns out, he's originally from New Jersey, where he taught Moo Duk Kwon, judo, kendo, and various Chinese and kobudo styles. He was also a contributor to Black Belt magazine— if you Google his name, many of this articles pop up. This one, for example:

https://books.google.com/books?id=sdsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109&dq=brian+wilkes+new+jersey+martial+arts&source=bl&ots=ktavGkMHKi&sig=yltpDHUgJGK-S7ZLZJDGl3ycpiY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAWoVChMI09rJt5SnyAIVw6w-Ch0R8QFj#v=onepage&q=brian%20wilkes%20new%20jersey%20martial%20arts&f=false

Very quickly, he rattled off a list of people he knew: Don Nagle, Ralph Chirico, Peter Urban, Bill Chung, Gary Alexander, a handful of others that I didn't recognize, and of course Robert Murphy, whom he called "Bob." He was quite taken aback to hear of Shihan Chirico's health problems and especially Soke Murphy's death.

He told me his favorite story about Soke Murphy. He said he was hanging out at a place that retailed martial arts weapons, Soke Murphy was there, and in walked a guy who wanted to buy a bunch of knives. Someone asked the man if he had any instruction in their use, and the guy said his teacher was Bob Murphy. "And he went on to sing Bob Murphy's praises, Bob Murphy this and Bob Murphy that. And Bob leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, 'Would you mind introducing the two of us?'"

He left martial arts to join the ministry when the economy took a dive and his dojo failed. Now he's living about forty miles north of Carbondale in Pinkneyville, Illinois. Here's his website:

http://www.TheNativeAmericanChurch.com

It's a small world after all.

Thanks!

Chris Wissmann

1111 West Walkup

[mma]

Amazing story. I think Hermione isn't getting the credit she
deserves. Clearly, it was her instincts that led to the chance
meeting.

Dare I ask how old Brian is? Sounds like he goes back to Summit
Dojo or perhaps even pre-Summit. What an exciting find! The
story sounds very similar to one that occured with Jimmy Bethea aka
"Cricket", who was teaching weapons saying that Soke was his
instructor. It could have been around the early 70s, Jimmy lived
in Madison, NJ. Of course, odds are that more than one person used
such a ploy.

Thanks for sharing this, what fun!

Marie

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[Chris Wissmann]

Someday, if I haven't already, I'll tell you about Harry Potter and the mother from whom we inherited him— that's an even more amazing story!

Brian said he's in his sixties, I believe, and judging by the injuries he said he'd incurred, I'd guess late sixties. Pretty neat, regardless.

[Bob]

Every day I thank my lucky stars that my brother found the Summit dojo. I have never been in the presence of a better instructor.

Sent from my iPhone