Sean Paul Murphy, Writer

Sean Paul Murphy, Writer
Sean Paul Murphy, Storyteller

Thursday, October 29, 2020

The Most Important Election of Our Lifetime!


"This is the most important election of our lifetime."

Those are the words I heard when I first voted for president back in 1980. I have heard them prior to every subsequent election. It's being shouted even louder now.

It's crap. Step out of the outrage-driven twenty-four hour news cycle and look at things objectively. We are a huge country with a large, diverse population and a long history and strong institutions. We're not going to change overnight for either good or evil. 

So who's saying it and why? Democrats and their compliant media allies who want me to fear and hate Republicans, and Republicans and their compliant media allies who want me to fear and hate Democrats.

I refuse.

Do you honestly expect me to hate my brother or my sister or my friends because they're voting for Trump? Or Biden? What? Are you crazy?

Here's the truth.

Donald Trump never gave me a ride to the airport at five a.m.

Joe Biden never came over and helped me move.

Mitch McConnell didn't comfort me when my sister shot herself.

Nancy Pelosi did nothing to soothe my heart when my first love left me.

But my friends and family did. And now I'm supposed to shun them because they're voting for another candidate? You must be out of your freaking mind! We live in a country with two hundred and forty million eligible voters and you expect me to throw away lifelong relationships because of their one vote. That's worse than insane. It's emotional suicide.

But what about injustice, you ask? Am I turning a blind eye to that?

No, not at all. I see injustice all around me. I just don't see how partisan hatred is going to solve it. If you dig down deep enough  into any injustice, you will find that the root cause is always hatred or fear. And I guarantee it will not be solved by more hatred and fear. You don't fight fire with fire. You fight it with water.

No law will expel racism from the hearts of individuals. It will only drive it deeper and keep it more hidden.

What will end racism? Friendship. It's very easy to demonize a group. It's infinitely harder to hate someone who treats you with kindness and respect.

I talked to hundreds of people while compiling my extensive family tree. Many of the older people I talked with had fled downtown East Baltimore as a result of the white flight during the 1950s. At the time they were horrified at the prospect of living with African Americans. 

Guess what? In the ensuing decades, the lily-white neighborhoods they fled to slowly became racially-mixed. Now, in their senior years, they have learned to appreciate and respect their new black neighbors. I heard this attitude repeated to me by many former flighters. They would tell me, sometimes with more than a little surprise, about how kind and helpful their new black neighbors were. For example, I was touched when my eighty-eight-year-old Uncle Butch declared that the African immigrant who drove him to dialysis treatment every day was his best friend. My uncle was a good man, but he was also a product of his times. And guess what. Bill Clinton didn't change his heart. Neither did George W. Bush. Nor did a Supreme Court ruling. His heart was changed by simple kindness. That's all it took.

Sometimes I think you can do more to end racism by pulling over onto the side of the road to help someone change a tire than attending a political rally.

The worst problems in this country are ultimately problems of the heart. And they can only be changed face-to-face, one person at a time. To assign that job to the government abdicates our personal responsibility as human beings. To choose to hate, demean, deride and ridicule half of the people in this country who don't vote the way you do is counter-productive. And it is a choice. You are not morally compelled to hate people. 

So what am I going to do for the next four years if Trump wins? The same thing I am going to do if Biden wins.

I am going to love my wife and my family. I will also try to show kindness and grace to the people I run into on a daily basis, whether they be friends, acquaintances or strangers. I hope to continue writing about the things that are most important to me. And politics is nowhere near the top of the list. The issues that resonate most deeply in me involve suicidal hopelessness and despair and the hope offered by faith. Those issues cross all party and national lines. They're universal. And I am not going to trap myself in a box, thereby invalidating my testimony in the eyes of half the country, by endorsing a political candidate or party. That would be idiotic.

I find a great deal of wisdom in Reinhold Niebuhr's serenity prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

The older I get, the clearer it becomes what I can change and what I cannot change. And, as a result, I have chosen to put people ahead of parties.

Feel free to hate me for it. It's America. You have the right to do so.

Just don't expect me to hate you back.

More personal musings:
Me, Post Death
My Premature Memorial Video
Meeting The Love of My Life
My Wedding 09.30.2000
Personal Letter, or, Love in the Time of Texts
Death of an Amway God
Religion & Politics: An Uneasy Mix
The Most Important Election of Our Lifetime
God Told Me to Write It
Prince and the Nexus of Music and Memory
Surviving The Year of Death
The Ultimate Wedding Extravaganza
Sean Paul Murphy: (Failed) Songwriter
Sean Paul Murphy: (Failed) Songwriter, Pt. 2

Be sure to check out my memoir The Promise, or the Pros and Cons of Talking with God, published by TouchPoint Press. It is my true story of first faith and first love and how the two became almost fatally intertwined.



Here are some sample chapters of The Promise:

Chapter 7 - Mission Accomplished
Chapter 15 - Quarter To Midnight

Be sure to check out my novel Chapel Street. It tells the story of a young man straddling the line between sanity and madness while battling a demonic entity that has driven his family members to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting my family experienced.

You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.


Learn more about the book, click Here.

Watch the book trailer:

  

Listen to me read some chapters here:


Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An Introduction
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3

Follow me on Twitter: SeanPaulMurphy
Follow me on Facebook: Sean Paul Murphy
Follow me on Instagram: Sean Paul Murphy
Subscribe on YouTube: Sean Paul Murphy
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Sunday, October 25, 2020

Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast #47: Round Robin: Halloween Films


Here's another COVID free ZOOM edition of the Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast, a lively discussion of the movies that sometimes devolves into a group therapy session.

In this special pre-Halloween edition, each of the Mother Podcasters each bring a guilty pleasure horror film to the table to present to the others.  Our choices range from certified classics to low budget spoofs to terrifying recent films. Afterwards, we voted on which of the films we would feature on our Halloween edition. Listen and find out one we chose.

Here's the podcast on YouTube:

 

This week the Quattrucci brothers Cue It Up (again). Take a listen to the latest episode of our first official spin-off on the YKYMP network.

 

Our Podcast is now available for download on iTunes: Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast
Subscribe to our YouTube page: Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast
Check out our webpage: Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast

Like us on Facebook: Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast.
Follow us on Twitter: YKYPodcast
Check out Wojo's webpage: Wojo's World
And follow her on Twitter: @TheMicheleWojo

Check out our other episodes here:


My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.



Learn more about the book, click Here.

Listen to me read some chapters here:

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Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Publishers Weekly's BookLife Features Chapel Street


My paranormal thriller Chapel Street was one of only seven novels featured in the October 2020 Indie Spotlight by Publishers Weekly's Booklife. Considering the huge number of great books released by indie publishers, it was a tremendous honor to be selected. I am very grateful for their consideration.

Read about it here: Indie Spotlight Part 1: October 2020

Have you read the book yet? You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.



Learn more about the book, click Here.

Listen to me read some chapters here:


Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:

The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An Introduction
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3

Let's stay in touch:

Follow me on Twitter: SeanPaulMurphy
Follow me on Facebook: Sean Paul Murphy
Follow me on Instagram: Sean Paul Murphy
Subscribe on YouTube: Sean Paul Murphy
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Friday, October 16, 2020

Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast #46: Be Kind Rewind

Here's another COVID free ZOOM edition of the Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast, a lively discussion of the movies that sometimes devolves into a group therapy session.

After the two grim films from 1971, our newest member Drew Gould decided to bring some welcome whimsy to the group with the 2008 film by Michel Gondry Be Kind Rewind. But will it be whimsical enough to wash away the lingering aftertaste of Klute and The  Hospital, or will it be too whimsical? Watch and find out.

BTW, here's a story with The Mighty Wojo interviewing Linda Ronstadt: Linda Ronstadt on Persevering Her Culture.

Here's the trailer:



Here's the podcast on YouTube:

 

This week the Quattrucci brothers Cue It Up (again). Take a listen to the latest episode of our first official spin-off on the YKYMP network.

 

Our Podcast is now available for download on iTunes: Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast
Subscribe to our YouTube page: Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast
Check out our webpage: Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast

Like us on Facebook: Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast.
Follow us on Twitter: YKYPodcast
Check out Wojo's webpage: Wojo's World
And follow her on Twitter: @TheMicheleWojo

Check out our other episodes here:


My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.



Learn more about the book, click Here.

Listen to me read some chapters here:

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Thursday, October 15, 2020

TV Free Baltimore Interview

\ 

The good folks down at TV Free Baltimore just interviewed me about my book Chapel Street, and the actual haunting that inspired the book. I was grateful for the opportunity to talk with them, and I look forward to sitting down with them again in the near future!

I hope you enjoy it.

Below you will find my previous interview with them about my first film 21 Eyes.

 

Be sure to check out my novel Chapel Street. It tells the story of a young man straddling the line between sanity and madness while battling a demonic entity that has driven his family members to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting my family experienced.

You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.


Learn more about the book, click Here.

Listen to me read some chapters here:


Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:

The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An Introduction
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3

Follow me on Twitter: SeanPaulMurphy
Follow me on Facebook: Sean Paul Murphy
Follow me on Instagram: Sean Paul Murphy
Subscribe on YouTube: Sean Paul Murphy
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Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Chapel Street Review - Escapereality4now

Here's a review of my novel Chapel Street by Instagram and Goodreads horror reviewer Tali Leonard, aka escapereality4now.

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Book Review ✨✨ Thank you @sean_paul_murphy #giftedbook Tell me something (anything) about the main character in your current read. Chapel Street , by Sean Paul Murphy, was a paranormal thriller based on the authors experiences. The main character, Rick Bakos, is a tortured soul that lost family members to suicide. Aside from researching his family’s lineage, He volunteers after work for a website called “Resting Place.” Part of his volunteer work includes visiting graves and in doing so he awakens a demon. Rick befriends a fellow volunteer, Teri Poskocil, and they find themselves growing closer to the horror. Although it took me a few chapters to get into the book, it was an extremely well-written story. I could feel Rick’s loneliness and grief in the beginning of the book. The story begins to pick up for me after Rick photographs the grave of Betty Kostek. At that point the reader begins to see the evil that has a hold on this family. Sean Paul Murphy has a way of writing which made me want to turn the pages and dins out more. Chapel Street has many religious undertones but most stories consisting of possession and demons are intertwined with religion. I feel that the author had a good balance of faith and horror which made the story suspenseful. It was a true battle of good versus evil. 4🌟 Thank you for the buddy read @marcyreads and @wherethereadergrows 🥰 ——————————————————— #chapelstreet #seanpaulmurphy #paranormalstories #horrorfiction #bookreview #promotehorror #bookstagram #mustreadbooks #newbooks #goodbookstoread #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #bookstafiends

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My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.


Learn more about the book, click Here.

Listen to me read some chapters here:


Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:

The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An Introduction
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3

Let's stay in touch:

Follow me on Twitter: SeanPaulMurphy
Follow me on Facebook: Sean Paul Murphy
Follow me on Instagram: Sean Paul Murphy
Subscribe on YouTube: Sean Paul Murphy
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Monday, October 12, 2020

Chapel Street Review - LiteraryLobstah

Here's a review of my novel Chapel Street by Instagram horror reviewer Mary Kronsberg, aka LiteraryLobstah.

View this post on Instagram

Rick Bakos leads a seemingly humdrum life; accountant by day, genealogical geek/grave documenter by night (or really, on his down time)... But all that changes in a moment when he tries to document/upload a grave before his genealogy rival "Tombstone Teri." Things start not adding up and suddenly Rick is having somnambulistic episodes and conversations with his brother- the problem there being that his brother is dead, having committed suicide some years prior. You see, suicide has plagued Rick's family for generations and his Mother is the latest to fall victim. But will she be the last? Can Rick put his genealogical expertise to good use and trace back through generations to the source of this curse? The result becomes a race against time which tests not only Rick's faith (or lack thereof) but also his sanity. Will he break the curse? Or is there a much darker force at work here? @sean_paul_murphy's Chapel Street really surprised me! It is a well developed story with moments of absolute terror. I literally could not put this book down. I had to know what happened next!!! And I was so rooting for Rick. He was an annoying but lovable character. This book really reads like a movie (and I suspect it will be made into one) and I would totally go see it! I just wish it didn't get a little religious towards the end, but can't fault it for that. It's imperative to the story/character development. And make no mistake, this is a horror novel. It's a perfect spooky read for the Halloween season. 4⭐ for Chapel Street. Thank you to @sean_paul_murphy for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review. #ChapelStreet #SeanPaulMurphy #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #bookish #bookreview #horror #book #paperback #possession #ghost #curse #genealogy

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My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.


Learn more about the book, click Here.

Listen to me read some chapters here:


Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:

The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An Introduction
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3

Let's stay in touch:

Follow me on Twitter: SeanPaulMurphy
Follow me on Facebook: Sean Paul Murphy
Follow me on Instagram: Sean Paul Murphy
Subscribe on YouTube: Sean Paul Murphy
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Saturday, October 10, 2020

In Memoriam: Richard Louis Smith, III

Richard & Julia Giancristoforo Smith

Richard Smith died in a car accident on September 23, 2020.  

Wow. I'm having a hard time processing the fact. What can you say about a friend who gave you a tremendous opportunity that literally changed the trajectory of your life?  I think the best approach for me would be to talk about the most difficult editing assignment I ever had, but let me give you some backstory first.

Richard Smith and I both worked at the mighty Smith Burke & Azzam, which was one of the hottest advertising agencies in the Mid-Atlantic during the second half of the 1980s. Richard arrived at the agency before me. He was already an amazing art director and designer. Me? I worked in the mailroom. My chief qualification for the job was nepotism. I was the office manager's son. Richard's path seemed set from the beginning. I had to discover mine on the job as I shifted from the accounting department to the media department before settling in as an Associate Producer in the broadcast department. Associate Producer is a pretty cool title, but I was essentially a gofer. 

I knew who Richard was, but I had few direct dealings with him. Nor did I seek them out. Richard was an extremely self-confident but socially awkward ad guy. When he spoke, I often found his words somewhat oblique. I found him intimidating, and our first real interaction didn't set me at ease. 

I was helping Richard prepare materials for a new business pitch. It was after hours. I had to edit a new business reel of appropriate commercials that Richard had selected for the meeting the next day. After I finished the reel, I typed up a label, slapped it on the tape and delivered it to Richard's office. 

Richard looked at the label, which read: Smith, Burke and Azzam. New Business Reel.

"The label's wrong," he said. He handed the tape back to me before returning his attention to his work. No further explanation was given.

I went back to my office and typed up a new label: Smith, Burke and Azzam. Presentation Reel.

I returned to Richard's office and handed him the tape. He looked up at me annoyed. "That's not the name of the company," he explained. "It's an ampersand, not an 'and.'"

I went back to my office and typed up a new label which read: Smith, Burke & Azzam. Presentation Reel."

I happily handed him the tape with the new label. He was still not pleased. "There's no comma after the Smith," he said, exasperated.

I went back to my office and retyped the label and put it on the tape. This one was accepted without comment.  I was very ready to leave that night!

I got to know Richard better in the months and years that followed. He was one of the young Turks at the agency. With his partner Jeff Millman, Richard created some truly amazing commercials and advertisements. The team was winning every award, and, as a result, the agency was winning accounts. I began working more closely with him. While he was never a people person, I came to understand that most of those oblique comments that once intimidated me were jokes. I simply didn't get his sense of humor at first. Later I found him often hilarious. Richard was easy to work for because he knew what he wanted. If you could figure out what he wanted from his sometimes diffuse instructions, you would do fine. That, however, wasn't always easy.

I remember a meeting in his office overlooking Charles Street before a commercial shoot. Richard was directing. He called in the cinematographer, the late great Tom Loizeaux, to discuss the project. The meeting took about a half an hour. Richard did almost all of the talking, gesturing determinedly as he did so, trying to explain his vision. Once or twice, when Richard was looking away, Tom would give me a quick look of panic. After the meeting, Tom pulled me aside and whispered, "I have no idea what he wants."

"Don't worry, it'll all be fine," I answered. And it was.

Around this time Richard literally changed the trajectory of my life. Although we had a three-quarter-inch editing system at the agency, most of the commercials we produced were edited in either New York or Los Angeles. Richard and Jeff were editing a Choice Hotels commercial in New York, and weren't satisfied with the work. In post, they decided they needed a fifteen-second version. The New York editor said it couldn't be done. 

Richard brought a three-quarter-inch tape of the dailies back to Baltimore with him. He knew I could operate the equipment, but he also knew that cutting new business reels didn't make you a creative editor. However, although he didn't say it at the time, Richard was impressed by a little music video I edited during some down time that told the history of the agency by using a shot from every commercial it had produced. Remembering that film, Richard dropped the tape on my desk and asked me if I could cut a fifteen-second commercial.

I said I could and I did. Richard approved of the result, and soon I was editing real commercials for the agency. It changed my life. I wasn't particularly fond of being a producer. I looked at the job as a stepping stone to copywriting, but I really took to editing. By the time I left the agency, I had the experience and the reel necessarily to become a full-time freelance editor. The occupation has provided me with a nice income and creative satisfaction for thirty years. But it was never something I sought. I never considered becoming a full time editor. That would have never happened if Richard hadn't dropped that tape on my desk.

Thanks for my career!

I liked Richard, but he remained an eccentric. What humanized him was his relationship with an account executive named Julia Giancristoforo. Like Richard, Julia was also one of the rising Young Turks. Some of the guys called Julia and some of her female associates The Wolf Pack. It was probably a result of a misogynistic fear of assertive, ambitious women, but that's a story for another day. I must confess I had a run in with Julia once that I thought would cost me my job.

In addition to editing, producing radio spots and filling out talent contracts, I also trafficked the finished commercials to the radio and television stations. It was an annoying and time consuming job, with a lot of paperwork. It was my least favorite responsibility.

Late one afternoon, Julia, who was the account executive for Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, called me into her office. She wanted to change how we trafficked the spots on her account in a way which I felt would literally add an hour to my day without providing any meaningful benefit. Normally I was a team player. I genuinely loved the agency and my co-workers. However, I was already working ten or more hours a day during that period so I said no, I wouldn't do it and stormed out of her office.

I fully suspected that my hissy fit would cost me my job. The next morning, I was called into the office of my big boss Roger Gray. He asked me about my current workload and I explained it. After listening for a while, Roger offered me a raise. That was quite a surprise for someone who expected to get fired! However, as we walked to the door of his office, he added, "You will do the things that Julia needs you to do, right?"

"Yes, of course," I replied and I did. Fortunately, because of the heavy workload, they soon hired another person in the broadcast department who took over trafficking and the other aspects of the job I despised.

I never had any problems with Julia afterwards. I liked her, but she was definitely walking on the tightrope. Advertising agencies can be incredibly political, particularly in the account services and creative departments. The amount of backstabbing was incredible. Alliances came and went. One false move and your one time friend would devour you. But Julia had an ally: Richard. I don't know if her relationship with Richard was ever a secret, but it wasn't one for long. They were obviously in love, and that love loosened Richard up considerably. They eventually moved into the "little house" on her parents' property in Stevenson, Maryland. I will always remember a Halloween party they threw in that little house. It was the first time I really saw them away from the office or an office event. I found them very sweet and happy.

In time, Richard became my direct supervisor. I'll never forget my final employee evaluation at the agency. Richard called me into his office. After I sat down, he said, "Sean, we never know where you are or what you're doing..."

Crap, I thought. I was sure my next stop would be the mailroom to get a cardboard box to carry my possessions home with me.

Then he continued, "...but it doesn't matter because we know you're always doing something good."

Whew. Spared again! The irony is that I would survive at the agency longer than either Richard or Julia.

After a series of shake-ups at the agency which led to the departure of some of the original partners, Richard, Julia and Jeff decided to leave Smith Burke & Azzam. They packed up their possessions, as well as the Trump Casino business, and took up residence at the venerable VanSant Dugdale, the dean of Baltimore advertising agencies. Little did they realize that SB&A, now called Gray Kirk & Evans, would soon devour VanSant and become GKV.

Any merger leads to a bloodbath and Julia was among the first to go. It actually proved to be a blessing to her. She took off her high-powered, business suit and took a job at a flower shop near her home. She later told me that working in the dirt with her hands changed her entire perspective on life. She would no longer be the hard driving business woman first, but her soul-soothing vacation from advertising would prove short-lived. Richard also fell victim to the internal agency turmoil. But instead of schlepping his resume around the town, he and Julia decided to create their own agency. Smith & Associates was born. Richard handled the creative. Julia took care of the rest.

By that time I had also departed agency life for the greener pastures of freelance. Smith & Associates was one of my main clients in those early days. After all of my large agency experience, I was surprised by the efficiency of their small shop, especially after the arrival of the trustyAnita Abbott. However, Richard's attitude had changed as a creative. Earlier in his career, he seemed very interested in winning awards. That attitude changed at Smith & Associates. He rolled his eyes whenever I asked him if he was going to enter a spot in a contest. He said he wasn't interested in winning awards, only getting the best results for his clients.

I remember editing a spot for Cellular One. Richard had driven around Pennsylvania with a cinematographer (Bob Dorsey?) to capture the scope of the region. When we were going through the footage, we came to a shot of the York Barbell Guy -- a rotating statue clearly visible from Interstate 83 of a muscle man lifting barbells on the roof of the company's offices. It is perhaps the most iconic image in South Central Pennsylvania.

The York Barbell Guy

As we watched the footage, Richard said, "In the old days, Jeff and I would have thrown out everything else and built a spot around this shot."

"Do you want to do that?" I asked.

"No," he replied, laughing out loud.

Sometime, I can't remember exactly when, Richard got very sick. He had a rare disease that was hard to diagnose. He also descended into depression as a result of the drugs used in his treatment. When he pulled out of it, he told me he only got through it because of Julia. He frequently said, "She saved my life."

As the years passed, my relationship with Richard and Julia shifted from bosses, to colleagues, to friends. And, although he had hardly any interest in the subject, I decided to do his family tree. I traced his family back for centuries to the royal houses of Europe. I told him he was the 21st great-grandson of Edward I, aka Longshanks. Yawn. The 34th great-grandson of Charlemagne?... Yawn. It wasn't until I told him that he was the 59th great-grandson of Coel, aka Colius that he took any interest.

"Old King Cole?" he asked.

"That's what they say," I replied.

"I'm related to Old King Cole," he said with bemused solemnity. That, he seemed to take some pride in.

He also took great deal of pride in his daughter Augusta. I remember how he told me, soon after she was born, how he wanted to make sure she would have every opportunity. Sadly, he couldn't control fate. Tragedy was coming. Julia got cancer.

It was a losing battle, but Julia refused to surrender. As she fought it, she wanted to live as normal a life as possible. She kept working. It is still difficult for me to articulate how I felt working with them during those last days of her life. We were doing a commercial for Advanced Business Systems. I was at their office during pre-production to discuss the special effects. I went to the shoot with them. I went to their office every day during the edit to work on Richard's Final Cut system. 

Julia's condition was the elephant in the room. We weren't supposed to talk about it, but she was growing visibly weaker. In the end, she was only coming into the office for lunch, which she prepared for us herself. Every day I went home with the knowledge that she might not survive the night. She did survive the edit, but died days afterwards.

Now comes the most difficult edit of my career.

A day after her death, Richard called and asked if I could come in and edit a little memorial video for her services. Of course, I agreed. When I got to the office, Richard greeted me with a sad, "She saved my life, but I couldn't save hers."

We went to the computer. He had dozens of potential photographs prepared. He picked the acoustic Beatles song "Julia," from The White Album, as the soundtrack. Interestingly, Richard chose very few photos of them as a couple. He said he wanted the focus to be on her. It was very emotional. I had just seen her a few days ago pretending that nothing was wrong. I had to stop and talk.

"Richard, I feel terrible about working with her every day and never taking the chance to talk to her about what she was going through or what she meant to me," I said.

"That was the way she wanted it," he replied. "It might've been good for you to talk to her, but it wouldn't have been good for her. She wanted everyone to treat her normally right up until the end. She didn't want to hear anything that sounded like a goodbye."

We continued working on the video. It ended with a shot of Julia. I typed in the words: Julia Giancristoforo Smith  1956 - 2006.  When I closed the titling tool, Richard sat back.  "Typing in those years really made it real," he said softly.

I'm surprised neither of us broke into tears.

That was the toughest edit of my career.

Richard and I drifted away soon afterwards. Smith & Associates closed. He opened Gaga Marketing with two of his old friends, and former Smith Burke & Azzamers, Mark Elmore and Earl Galleher. I don't think I ever did any editing work for them, but Richard and I continued to talk periodically. Mainly around election time. He liked to talk politics and I was always interested in his opinions. Eventually those conversations dwindled too.

About a week before his death, I was driving around their old stomping grounds of Stevenson, Maryland, with my wife and mother. We found ourselves talking about Richard and Julia as we drove by their former home and haunts. It made me want to call him again. But I didn't have any sense of urgency. After all, there was plenty of time to catch up with him later....

I'm sure if Richard could see me typing this now, he'd be rolling his eyes. I don't think he'd be angry, but I'm sure he would think I was wasting my time. Trusty Anita perhaps said it best: "I think he would be appalled that people are talking about him and spending work hours on Facebook." Yup. That sounds about right.

But I don't think Julia would have minded.

I hope Gussie doesn't either.

Rest In Peace, Richard. Say hi to Julia for me. And Old King Cole too.

Here's the memorial video:


Here's a more traditional obituary: Richard Louis Smith, III

Here's his bio from the Gaga website: ECD Richard Smith

Photographs courtesy of Augusta Smith. My condolences on our loss, and my congratulations on your recent engagement.

Be sure to check out my memoir The Promise, or the Pros and Cons of Talking with God, published by TouchPoint Press. It is my true story of first faith and first love and how the two became almost fatally intertwined.



Here are some sample chapters of The Promise:

Chapter 7 - Mission Accomplished
Chapter 15 - Quarter To Midnight

Be sure to check out my novel Chapel Street. It tells the story of a young man straddling the line between sanity and madness while battling a demonic entity that has driven his family members to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting my family experienced.

You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.


Learn more about the book, click Here.

Watch the book trailer:

  

Listen to me read some chapters here:


Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An Introduction
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3

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