Category: Life

  • Short Story Review: “Chuck Murphy’s Last Run” by Kevin Barry

    (The short story “Chuck Murphy’s Last Run” by Kevin Barry appeared in the October 19th, 2026 issue of The New Yorker.)

    (Illustration by Thomas Colligan; Source photograph from Getty)

    Just about nobody likes getting older. The exception in my life is my kid, who looks forward to every birthday, with the adding another digit to her age. For the rest of us, at some point a switch is flipped, and getting older is something that is dreaded rather than celebrated. Kevin Barry’s story “Chuck Murphy’s Last Run” takes a stab at this predicament, using a group of aging Irish friends, who all belong in a quasi-biker gang, as they journey to send off their mutual friend who recently died.

    The story begins with a solid first paragraph, establishing that what will follow will be humorous as it tackles a somber situation. This approach worked well for the story, which was a very competent piece of writing. Nothing got too serious, as Barry would slip in a joke or two to break any building tension. Motivations were understood, and the interplay between characters felt honest. In all, the story moved at solid clip.

    Yet, nothing happened in this story that wasn’t predictable. You knew they were going to make it to their destination, you knew they were going to say goodbye to their friend, you knew people in the group were going to have an argument, and you knew the main character was going to learn that life was changing, again. This is the reason why I used the word competent to describe this story, because that’s what it was. I could diagram out this story, it was so well constructed. I wouldn’t call it paint by numbers, but it might be two steps away from that.

    What “Chuck Murphy’s Last Run” felt like was a piece of store-bought cake. Sometimes you just want a spongy, sweet piece of cake that hits the spot. It’s a good piece of cake, but five minutes later, you’ve already forgotten about it.

  • Earworm Wednesday: This is for Ma

    My mother played this album all the time while I was growing up, and it used to drive me up the wall. John Denver wasn’t cool, and he was so cheesy. But my Ma loved him, and had several of his albums – Seasons of the Heart might have been her favorite. At least, that was the one she played the most.

    The memory that is the strongest, most vivid, is of “Shanghai Breezes” playing in our house in Texas. It’s early Spring, the windows are open, the song is playing. I’m pretty little, five or six. My mother is somewhere in the house, the kitchen, or her bedroom, but she’s around. I can’t see her, but I hear her singing along with song. She’s there, and she’s in a good mood, happy. Just me and my Ma. It was sweet and innocent, and one of those moments that at the time felt like it could live on forever.

  • Can’t Stop Watching the News (Unedited)

    I have been fighting very hard to not live in an echo chamber. Though it does feel like the whole world is out to get more, or at least push me into a corner. Trying to stay balanced is tricky, because as we all know, if you search too much of one subject, the Algorithm thinks that’s what you want to see all the time. Or, as a friend pointed out to me, our TVs are listening to us now, so I try to watch what I say around the set, as to not send the wrong message to the AI Overlords.

    I say all of this because the midterm elections are three weeks away, and I am getting anxious about the possible outcomes. I’m not sure I can put my whole faith in the coming “Blue Tsunami” as it might just end up being a “Blue Drop.” Having grown up in Texas, and first hand witnessing that state change from Blue to the deepest of reds, I have a hard time believing that anyone with a D next to their name is going to win a state wide election there. (If Jesus was running with a D, he’d lose in a landslide to an R Satan.) And I can’t shake the feelings that there will be Trump shenanigans the day after the election; claims of voter fraud, and court cases, and attempts to seize votes, or claim that certain winners should be sworn in and seated. You know, normal Trump stuff.

    All this makes me anxious, anxious, anxious.

    I will say this; I do believe that just about everybody (70% or so) is fed up with the state of politics in this country. From government not working, to affordability, to healthcare, to people no longer being civil to each other – I do think people are ready, and yearning for things to change. And change for the better. A change that moves us forward. Not one party over the other, but getting back to having faith in each other and working together.

    Only the hardest core of each side enjoys the state we’re in, and I dare say they only enjoy it because they are profiting off of it. The rest of us? I think we’d like to have a friendly debate, and then compromise on a solution.

    You know; the way it’s supposed to be.

  • The Apples Were Picked

    My family went apple picking this weekend. My daughter even brought a friend, so we had an extra person to help enjoy our Autumnal Tradition. And there was a hay ride (Actually, no hay was involved, but no one cared) and a core maze, a pumpkin patch, and apple cider donuts. There were food trucks as well, but those don’t interest me.

    What interests me is putting on a flannel shirt on a warm Fall morning, and sweating too much, as I stomp and trip over rotten apples on the ground, looking for that one unplundered Golden Delicious apple tree that’s hidden way in the back of the orchard. And I also enjoy eating an apple a day for the next month, and wonder at the benefits of my increased fiber intake!

    I was rather excited to be there

    The whole thing is cheesy and cliched, and I love it so much! As the kid and her friend were running around the corn maze, I told the wife that I know that we won’t be doing this forever with the kid. She’ll either outgrow it, or move away. But, I would like to still come out and do this; walk around the orchards, watching the families and their little ones enjoy the fifteen to twenty minutes of pleasure they all get picking fruit from a tree.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Political Ads, Sports, and Apple Picking

    (You’re good, so good…)

    We are now under 30 days from the Midterm elections, and if you are like me, you’ve had your fill of the political ads. There is no way to avoid them, as they seem to have invaded every for and medium out there. This time around, the kid has started paying attention, and asking questions, which is good. Her game is trying to figure out which political party a candidate is with, being that in almost all the ads, no one specifies anymore. All of these additional conversations with my daughter have been great but lead me to ask her a very important question; “Are you excited to vote when you turn 18?” Which she quickly answered, “No.”

    The Dallas Cowboys suck this season. And the Cubs got swept outta the playoffs, super quick. I don’t have high hopes that Tottenham will have righted the ship after this International break. So… I’m not having a good sports month. It’s an October Slog. In fact, when I was out shopping last week, a store clerk asked me why I was out in public with a Tottenham hat on. “Why are you announcing your shame to everyone?” he asked. I didn’t take it personal, he was an Arsenal fan.

    That’s right, I’m again doing the very cheesy and cliché thing! I’m going up the Hudson Valley to take my family apple picking. Oh, I love how silly, and over crowed, and just basic this tradition is. But you know what I really love? Apple Cider Donuts! Eating apples off a tree! Putting on a flannel shirt, and walking around in mud! It’s my Rites of Autumn! May it live forever!