Morris’ Mystery

Nearest City:	Kalamazoo
County:	Kalamazoo
Planted By:	SpringChick
Date Planted:	May 2003
Terrain:	Easy/Moderate — Hilly
Time/Distance:	About 1 mile round trip
Status:	Retired

Clues…

I was walking along sucking on a piece of hard candy, humming a Joni Mitchell tune, counting crows along the west edge… 1, 2, 3, 4… 14, 15… oh wait, there’s one more, hidden behind the white stallions…

In the picnic shelter there were two old men playing checkers and it got me thinking about Morris — the Russian, not the cat, not the artist. I found it quite intriguing how he went from being an immigrant tailor to the king of checkers. One had to wonder how the story would have come out if Lomberg hadn’t failed. Would he have become the king of checkers instead? Surely he would have been too yellow to risk everything and move the whole operation from Chicago to Kalamazoo, as Morris had done. And this would probably be a housing development instead of a public park full of maples.

So, I wondered as I reached a small oasis, if Morris was a Russian immigrant, how did this little island get this name? And what exactly is the significance of this pile of rocks? I was still mulling over the possibilities as I headed north into the woods on the trail about 60 paces up the drive, but soon changed focus and directed my energy to the climb that lay before me.

There was a profusion of spring flowers and the scent was intoxicating, but it hardly seemed like I was going to find what I was looking for out here in the woods. I could barely even hear any traffic, let alone hope to see any, or catch a ride to town. But the woman had seemed to know what she was talking about when I had told her what I was looking for.

I found myself humming Joni Mitchell again, hoping this paradise would never meet such fate. A dollar and a half just to see the trees seemed a bit outrageous until I put it in perspective — I had after all, paid $5.00 to get into this park.

I turned my attention to the scrawled directions she had given me…

morris mystery

Tagged: Clues, MI-Kalamazoo, Michigan-LP, Mystery Box, Retired

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