Dad was always on his toes
Dennis J. Murphy’s life was a good example of how to live, his daughter says. Credit: Handout
The way to teach your children a lesson is to live it. My father lived a life of balance, something he felt was necessary for happiness. Taking the LIRR into Manhattan every day, he stepped off the train at 6:18, to be home for the family dinner 10 minutes later. Mowing the lawn on Saturday mornings, he finished by 11, so we could be in our seats at Shea Stadium before the Mets' first pitch.
Reserving Sundays for rest and relaxation, he attended the 12:15 Mass, followed by reading newspapers and, later, biking, swimming or playing tennis with anyone who was around.
Living in an ordinary L.I. suburb, he appreciated world art, music, history and literature by listening, reading and later traveling. My father's example taught his six children that achieving the good life is a balancing act.
-- Susan Murphy Sampson, Wainscott
