Give as you live

by chasemradio #Tryharder, What's your story?

Have you heard of The Moth podcast? It’s one of the few podcasts that I listen to. Actually, upon review, it might be the only podcast I actively listen to? (I need to get out more I guess). I have a few others that I download, but rarely consume and usually just delete to make space on my phone. I’m sure that’s what people do with my podcast, but thanks anyway for at least acknowledging it. (If you care, go to iTunes and look for Chase Patrick Murphy). If you read this blog and listen to podcasts, feel free to share with me a podcast you think I should check out. Anyway, The Moth is a podcast about real life […]

Connect the dots (La la la la)

by chasemradio #Tryharder, What's your story?

  A few weeks ago a friend of mine was having a conversation with his wife about people in their collective lives and they challenged each other to associate each friend with one word that best describes that person. Somewhere in the conversation my name came up and my friend, of over 15 years, had to decide on what word to use for me.   You might be doing this right now with your list of friends as you read the words I wrote for this chapter. Eventually, you are going to get around to attempting to imagine what people would say about you. (It always comes back to “you”). You want to make sure you are projecting the right […]

I have one of those faces

by chasemradio #Tryharder, What's your story?

  I found myself at the least happiest place on earth during the month of December. A place where every 5 minutes you see someone do the unthinkable. From cutting an old lady off to get a parking spot to seeing a customer yelling at a worker at a shorthanded jewelry store. I saw both of those things happen 10 minutes of each other while shopping at the mall for gifts for my family. In the season of peace, love and joy, the mall is a necessary hell on earth. I had to go there to get the things I needed. I can see the appeal of online shopping and getting Amazon to deliver it. In a world where we […]

Kids > Gin and Tonic

by chasemradio #Tryharder, What's your story?

  Growing up, my sister was on her own. She was the lone girl in the wolf pack of boys. There was Kim and then there were the boys. We were grouped together always as “the boys”. The boys did this and The Boys did that. When bad things were done, it was rarely me or Jimmy or Michael, it was us. We were punished and grounded as a group and we were bragged about and rewarded as a group. Sometimes my sister would defend us to mom and dad or be the first to throw us under the bus. (Usually the latter). My mom would write a list of chores for each day of the summer and my sister […]

So what next?

by chasemradio #Tryharder, What's your story?

When you are on top of the world you are able to dream on a level that most people cannot fathom. The world is truly your oyster and roadblocks are seen as mere bumps along the way. Nobody can tell you what you cannot do because you won’t imagine it. When you are on a roll like this, life is like a wide open road with no traffic, stop signs or weather to slow you down.   Ronda Rousey said in an interview a few weeks ago that she could see herself holding a title in several different combat sports. In the near future, she could imagine herself being at the top in UFC, woman’s boxing and professional wrestling all at once. […]

The Balance of Love and Hate

by chasemradio #Tryharder, What's your story?

Me: Why are you driving your sister crazy?  Why are you following her around?   Sean:  Because I love her.   When you’re 5 years old, your 8 year older sister hangs the moon. She’s the biggest influence in your life and even though she yells at you, hits you and tells you to go away, you can’t stop loving her. Partly because driving her nuts is so much fun.   Growing up being the middle son and the 3rd oldest of 4, I don’t recall too many serious moments or times where we didn’t love each other to the point of driving each other crazy. We fought and shouted, but in the same minute we were throwing things at […]

Passion is Priceless

by chasemradio #Tryharder, What's your story?

  If I could pick one thing that I love to do and do it for the rest of my life, it would be to cook. I love to cook! Something about being able to take a bunch of things and turn them into one thing, while trying to balance out their attributes and contributions in such a way that it allows them to complement each other and create something new, as if they were always supposed to be together to begin with, excites me. I flat out enjoy it. I don’t look at cooking as a chore or a bother, but rather an opportunity to create, share and sometimes teach. My mom feels the same way, so it could be […]

You think you know somebody

by chasemradio #Tryharder, What's your story?

Sometimes the thing that makes you memorable is the thing you least expect or embrace. A close friend of mine is a working actress in NYC. She’s been in a ton of stuff that most of us have never seen and spends her days working on her craft and auditioning for parts. She makes a living in the largest market doing the thing she went to school to become. By career definition and accomplishments, she is an actress. She is very successful, but not a household name. Yet. She also enjoys Argentine Tango. I have known this woman for about 20 years and I have never had one conversation with her about Argentine Tango. I am confident that the only […]

Ketchup is for Communists

by chasemradio #Tryharder, What's your story?

My wife is a funny woman. I have been in love with this woman for over 17 years and I want to be with her till the day I die. Chances are I will die first, so saying till the day she dies wouldn’t apply. Give or take a few years, she only has to put up with me for maybe 40 more years? After that, she can get married to whomever she likes, as long as he’s rich. We have two sinks in our master bathroom. Hers and mine. My sink, or at least the one that is designated as my sink, has a handful of things on the counter. Mouthwash, pills I have to take to live 40 […]

I married a T-Rex (and she’s always right)

by chasemradio #Tryharder, What's your story?

4am in the freaking morning one of the smoke detectors decided to let us know that it needed a battery. This stuff never happens at 4pm or at a time when I happen to have the ladder in the house. Like a hungry newborn baby, these little bastards want to be changed at 4am, after a night when you stayed up a little later than usual and felt you could sleep in because the next day is Saturday. I waited it out. I tried. I am guilty in doing this with our kids, especially when they shout “I can’t find my Woobie”, only to realize, as I walk into the room, that they rolled over on it. Because it’s easier […]