The Terrible Catsafterme

My memories of Denise’s birth are confined to just a few seconds of standing in Grandma and Grandpa Murphy’s family room, looking through the sliding glass patio doors at my parents pulling up in the driveway in our ’72 AMC Hornet, exiting the car, and carrying my new sister into their house. Obviously, this is where I was dropped off as my parents headed to the hospital. In addition, although I can’t remember it specifically, there is a great Super 8 film that my Dad took of my Mom and me getting out of the car and bringing Denise Anne into our Echo Hill front doors for the first time. This was taken on Tuesday, April 13. Read the rest of this entry »

Christmas 1990 was indeed a special one as it was Ashleigh’s first. She wasn’t quite old enough to be ‘into’ the spirit of the season, but she was beginning to make some serious wide-eyed reactions to the lights and decorations. I remember standing by the tree at Christi’s parents’ house and telling her that the lights were ‘pretty.’ She gleefully sputtered ”p-p-p-puh.” Christi and I on the other hand had just come through some seriously rough times in our relationship. In fact, we had all but broken up completely just before the holidays. We had decided to make another go of it, and I, in good faith, presented her with an engagement ring in the early part of November instead of waiting for Christmas. She accepted the rock, but it would only be about another six months and we would be on the rocks for good. Read the rest of this entry »

I was the trailblazer for the Murphy cousins. The first to bring someone into the fourth generation. The first to get married. The first to get divorced, re-married, re-divorced…you get the picture. But my older cousin Lori was second. She got married less than a year after I did. Her husband-to-be Shane Davis already had a young son, Brandon, so Lori had an instant family. Of course, they later went on to have the second-greatgranchild as well, the adorable Abbey. I enjoyed Lori’s wedding a lot because there were so many aspects that reminded me of mine, particularly at the reception. In a way, it enabled me to re-live some of our special night from the previous June. Read the rest of this entry »

In a previous posting, I mentioned that I had once met Edie Adams, but did not have the foresight to get my photo take with her for whatever reason. In actuality, I never did really meet her. She was at a private party that I attended and she performed a routine, but I never made my way over her to give her my regards. Fortunately, as time marches on, we sometimes get second chances. Read the rest of this entry »

The famous Indian Lake cabin that I so fondly continue to visit had its origins back in the mid-1990′s. Specifically it was purchased in September of 1994 by my aunt Diana and uncle Tom. By the time they had fully furnished it and had it ready for the family to visit, it was June 1995. Looking through the batch of photos that Diana lent to me, I incorrectly assumed that I was present for the first soiree, but careful studies indicated that there were actually (at least) two get-togethers that Summer. The first one in June, I am relatively certain, was not attended by me – most likely because I was in Hollywood enjoying other adventures. My Mom did, however, bring along Ashleigh. Read the rest of this entry »