An Offering to the Trash Gods
By Margaret Malone

Charles Dickens’ “Our Mutual Friend” opens with a description that reminds me how fortunate we are to have that all-important event on the city calendar, Bulky Trash Day. Perhaps it will become a national holiday one day. It also reminds me that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

You see, the London that Dickens portrayed didn’t have landfills or garbage pickups, and was once oppressed during a particularly hot summer by a phenomenon aptly called “the great stink.”

Dickens’ London was home to a scavenger underclass that lived by harvesting all manner of rubbish. There were the “mudlarks,” children who wandered the banks of the Thames, gathering anything they could use or sell. There were the “toshers,” who combed through the sewers for the same reason. There were the rag-pickers and bone-pickers…and the “pure-finders.” You don’t want to know what they were looking for. It makes dumpster diving look posh.

I don’t know about you, but I love Bulky Trash Day. When I was a kid in England, we didn’t have a municipal large-trash pickup service. We did have a neighborhood “rag and bone man” who would go around the neighborhoods every so often, collecting all manner of large junk. The rag and bone man was a cultural figure in many cities and towns. There was even a popular and very long-running sitcom, “Steptoe and Son,” devoted to a hilariously vindictive rag and bone man and his oppressed son. The show was later remade in the USA as “Sanford and Son.” Waste Management’s service seems awfully refined by comparison.

So I’m looking forward to an opportunity for a bit of liberating de-clutter. It’s amazing how much junk a family household can collect. Although we donate almost everything we no longer use, broken and worn out items tend to collect over time, like the Jurassic-era fossilized computer and the broken kitchen chair I got rid of last trash day.

If one thing makes it memorable to meet Osman Kazan and his wife Esra, it’s the warmth of their welcome. To give hospitality is to receive a god-sent guest: tanri misafiri.

Osman bey and Esra hanim are from Izmit, an industrialized city in the Kocaeli province of Türkiye Cumhuriyeti—the Republic of Turkey. Izmit is near Istanbul in the same way Plano is near Dallas; a metroplex somewhat like DFW. And by the way, “bey” and “hanim” are equivalent to “Mr.” and “Ms.” In Turkish. Instead of “Mr. or Ms. Smith,” you say “Ms. Jane,” or “Mr. John.”

Turkey is a unique nation bordering eight other countries including Bulgaria, Iraq, Greece and Syria. It’s called “the cradle of civilization,” because it was home to cultures like the Hittites and ancient Greeks. Kublai Khan led Mongol warriors to the Black Sea; Alexander the Great rode his warhorse Bucephalus to victory there; Troy is in Turkey. The Ottomans are Turkey’s most famous empire, but the Romans were there too. Istanbul was once Constantinople, after the Roman emperor Constantine I chose it as his capital (and named it after himself, as emperors do). 

Turkey is historically and culturally a gateway, located between Europe and the Middle East. It’s rich, tolerant and fascinating. It’s also democratic and secular, founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the aftermath of World War I. Osman describes Atatürk as “our George Washington.” Turkey was a founding member of the United Nations and has a Prime Minister and Parliament, like Britain. 

The Kazans have lived in Murphy for two years. They have three children: Emin, 9, Serra, 4, and Selma, 1. Osman works for EDS and is studying for a Ph.D in engineering. Esra also has an engineering degree and is considering a career in teaching once the children are older. They like Murphy because of its “cozy” feel.

The Kazans enjoy several pastimes. Esra is embroidering a beautiful prayer rug with a design of daffodils and tulips. In keeping with Turkey’s diverse musical tradition, the family owns a bağlama, which is a metal-stringed instrument rather like an Indian sitar, traditionally played in folk music. The Kazans are active in the Raindrop Turkevi foundation, which promotes Turkish culture and supports Turkish immigrant families.

Esra shared some favorite dishes with us. Dolmas, or example, are sweet, delicate peppers stuffed with rice, meat and spices (like Greek dolmas except for the vine leaves). Kurabiye are crumbly pastry snacks like cookies; Esra makes them savory, sprinkled with sesame seeds. Kadayif is a sweet snack made from finely shredded pasta like vermicelli; it’s wonderful with a little cup of strong Turkish tea.

One interesting dish is Noah’s pudding: aşure. This comes with a story. As Noah and his family drifted in the Ark, they slowly ran out of food. When they landed on Mt. Ararat, they understandably wanted to celebrate. They threw together what they had into as sweet a pudding as they could make: grains, dried fruit, nuts, spices and honey, cooked into a soup. It’s soothing, sweet, and satisfying, truly a dish of everyday riches.

We thank Osman bey and Esra hanim for inviting us into their home. Would you like to be our next Multicultural Murphy family? If so, we’d love to hear your voice. Just contact marcia@murphymessenger.com to find out more. And Check out the Raindrop Turkevi foundation at http://raindropturkevi.org/

Photos by Andre Guerin

My dad once bought me a book titled Bureaucrats and How to Annoy Them. Its author was a wonderful, wildly eccentric English astronomer, Sir Patrick Moore. Pa loved the mischievous Sir Patrick and had a love-hate relationship with the machineries of state. He regarded the book as an essential to the education of his firstborn. It contained tips like filing your tax return in Welsh (an official language, by the bones of St. David!).

It was to Sir Patrick that I turned, at first, when asked to write about Things You Didn’t Know You Needed a Permit For. And then I thought again and realized that all things exist for a reason. In the case of the sundry permits required by city ordinance, said reason is to raise the bar and promote good standards of quality.

Contrary to abiding folk wisdom, city permits are a good thing in general, not the products of faceless Borg-O-Crats who want to assimilate you and your wallet. Granted, some of them may eventually result in an increase in your ad valorem taxes (pool and remodeling permits, for example), because they record projects that increase the value of your property. But that’s only a small part of the picture; having rebuilt more than half my house since moving here, I will say the tax impact is pretty low.

The ordinances that require permits for certain activities are developed by the City staff  with the collaboration, deliberation and approval of Council. That means, ultimately, that they are influenced by public opinion. Permits and registrations are, therefore, among the fine-point tools of the common interest in any community. They reflect consensus, as do the rest of the City’s codes of ordinances.

Here’s a plain-talk rundown of common activities for which a permit or some other kind of official record is needed, with some references into City Codes where appropriate. The circumstances and details vary depending on your zoning district and the individual activity, but hopefully there aren’t too many surprises in here. Anyone with questions can look up the ordinance cited at www.murphytx.org or contact the City Secretary to obtain copies of ordinances (per-page fees apply). You can also talk to the Community Development Department at 972-468-4040.

To view these ordinances, click on "Full Story"