Sunday Funday at Naukabout

hi how's everybody doing this morning look at this I have the Murphys with me it's weird because I still have you in my phone as your maiden name so yeah you nothing Ted hasn't made a name you're like wait are you talking to me is this thing on I love you good morning so yes Jen Murphy I've got Ted Murphy and we've got so many unusual stories to talk about first off thank you for answering the call oh no problem psyched to be here we love to knock about oh you know what yeah I'm finishing up some of our knockout there's still some on draft left which I'm surprised because usually when they do a keg run when it's gone it's gone so and they really um are creative with their flavors they've got some sort of s'mores Stout right now okay uh yeah right I know and there's some yummy spring releases that are coming up so knock about Lake Ave and Mashpee we are here every single Sunday Funday from 11 to 1 ariella's back behind the bar she is just the kind and thoughtful bartender back there so she she makes her Sunday fun day well worth the stop by so swing on by and say hello that it's beautiful out oh my God yeah amazing and they've got a whole outdoor area so if you've got kids and dogs and whatever be outside go outside enjoy it sit down at one of their picnic benches in the woods that's why I like it's kind of like a like a little hobbit hole of a brewery it really is yeah when you pull in here you're like you don't if you don't know the place right shocked yeah yeah it's creatively done in here so come and check it out for yourself so there is so much going on in all of our orbits so when we get a chance to get together I'm just like yay and it's usually for a non-profit of some sort exactly so talk about some of the non-profits that you work with Jen because I feel like you're you're always at oh and now I work with that one I'm like I didn't know you work with that one too um but well the main one um I love to talk about is wings for Falmouth families yeah oh my gosh such uh so close to my heart um so I've been with them about four years um and um we are just right now in the planning stages we're planning a big Gala at Seacrest in October amazing super excited about um and then of course getting ready for road race in August a lot of fun stuff coming up it's it's so nice to finally have spring that weekend yeah out and start start doing some things but um for those of you that don't know wings for Falmouth families we um we help families in need that if there's a medical condition or they've gone through a disaster if they have kids and live our work in Falmouth then we help help out with bills getting them back on their feet and it doesn't have to be crazy disasters I mean it could just be a matter of fact of you hurt yourself and couldn't work that week and you're behind on something 100 like whatever it is like I can't even pay this and they're going to shut off my elect electricity tomorrow thanks I watch their board is amazing watch it watching all the events because they also do the ugly sweater yeah that's the one that I'm involved in the one event I'm like I can help you I can handle this one is so much fun yeah The Giving Tree the ugly the ugly contest we do a lot of fun things so um that's what I was saying I'm just so excited spring and now um we're planning a lot of great events coming up so well in the gallery isn't that an anniversary that's yeah 20th anniversary in October amazing yeah it and it really check out wings for Falmouth families if you're in the Falmouth area and you're ever struggling or you just want to help somebody out one of your neighbors you forget how big Falmouth is sometimes the sheer area it covers but also the different Villages there are a ton of people and it's you know inevitable that some sort of thing will happen in your life where you're embarrassed to ask for help or maybe it's a neighbor that you're like suggests them to go and look out uh I always check in for whatever reason I seem to be the Hub where people come to to be like I've got this going on or I've got this going on or I've Got This Disaster where do I go uh and it's nice to have those resources and work with a lot of the people in our community good morning Dan thank you so much for checking in Jen Amy Don uh we are just surviving we both we all had a crazy weekend I was at last night at Sturgis with another fundraiser we raised thirty thousand dollars uh just for the live auction portion and Sturgis is not it's a charter school so it's not the Opera Rich anything it's it's a total Lottery to be able to go to that high school and um there every single Walk of Life so it was country versus Country Club was the theme and I was like interviewed for this job they were like well what were you play for Country Club I'm like Yacht Rock they were like oh good good answer but it was really funny so there was a portion where there was a bucket like a a trick-or-treat bucket in front of me where people could pay to stop a song If they didn't want to hear it I love that which is so stressful for me so I had to plan like 800 extra songs so I'm like what if they don't like that and then what if they don't like that and at the end it kind of got into a pissing match and some like they like cleared the dance floor they were mad because somebody bounced a Michael Jackson song and I was like I was paid to shut this off but the live Auctioneer was fabulous he had like a wardrobe change he was like if you've ever or never met somebody that is so into their job he specifically took people aside the entire auction was like you've got to see this item and like went into the story behind the item it really got into it and I was like this this is why he's good at his job because he really likes these items there are personal stories for everything you would think that it was like a family heirloom with everything that he talked about so it was just really really it was really cool to watch but he came out to Ryan he had a like a walk out song Rhinestone Cowboy like threw on a jacket he's like when everybody when it hits the chorus make sure everybody gets up and I'm like okay Ted and I connected in that fashion we like these like silly Pomp and Circumstance stuff we work together for Quahog day yeah the Quahog day where we're security guards yeah you gotta I got a big boost this year I did just for one year only good morning Carol good morning Patricia I definitely I was um upped to actual like host MC this past year so that was exciting but I let you know if I'm down for a storyline a good storyline where I'm like yep all right what are we doing and we got theme music and we're gonna do this let's have a little fun I I get a funny story about Quahog day yeah I was with Mo Cheeks people around town probably you know who Moe Cheeks is and um we had just been security guards this was this was in Chatham yeah so we we go into this restaurant dressed as our security and he's like I'll check the bathroom and we start doing the same thing and they're like you're like what's what's going on I go I can't I really can't can't talk about it so so Beyonce what time is she called and the woman's like oh my God I think so we get it then we're like you know what I've I've earned a beer setting up for this whole thing right we get a beer and we walk out of there and there were people coming in I know she was texting her friends absolutely absolutely but I really don't feel bad about that like it's just super fun we you and I had worked together on another fundraiser where there was a wrestling match oh my gosh and my son I forget how old at the time he was he was like seven or eight and he was so into it and he really thought it was real and he was like yeah he hated you because I was the manager for Mo yeah and I was like they're not gonna let us wrestle in your son's like get out of here again he was so aggressively into this storyline he really bought it hook line and sinker and I think that that for me is the magic point where if you can get somebody to come along or actually believe in the story or feel that story um to be able to to just sit there and be part of this magic even though it's totally made up we're just having a good time one we raise money for a young man who's doing he's cancer-free isn't that amazing and he's now giving back yeah and that's what it's all about and I think that that is like definitely the takeaway of this conversation is when you're volunteering first off like I really feel like it needs to be a point where you can have a magic part of whatever it is that you're doing it's not just I gotta do this because I gotta check a box because I gotta volunteer for something I think that it's so important to have a create your own magic you know what I mean the imagination is lost when we're sitting there in front of screens with our children all the time all day long exactly and you've been on a whirlwind tour in our school systems so I'm sure that you've been seeing it right there in person it's it's really amazing how we for our kids we lost a lot over those years yeah it was the first year I was back doing the assemblies and you know you have your stick right and I'm like why aren't the kids laughing because they did not know how to engage in real life and and today today when I say today this year it's back it feels so good because oh they got my job right yeah and the whole back and forth is is we're getting back there good good morning Linda um so yeah you've been doing the school tours and tell people about really if they've never seen you or know what you do what you do yeah so I first started as a writer um with the Belltown mystery series that that did well for me obviously that was young adult stuff though right okay yeah and my buddy Mark Penta who I've known since I was five years old tremendous illustration he really is and he he said you know we should do something together and he sent me a drawing one day and he said okay you got 15 minutes to come up with something I'm like oh my gosh right but I I did I was at a coffee Obsession was this before you started teaching like that your um kids classes well I've been teaching for 28 years all right privately yeah the Justified of class right in Falmouth Heights okay summer's coming sign up the kids we have fun if your kids regret it like to create this is the place to be genos I just had a little girl yesterday my Saturday class she she comes with a walker and she's got like she's only nine years old adorable yes she's got this white here and she's dressed as an old lady yeah and she's like I wanted to dress as my grandma today okay and her mom looks at me because she's helping her with the Walker yes I don't know that's what she wants but that's the whole beauty of the creativity because when that stuff is stifled it's it's going to affect it yeah where this kid I can see her on probably hosting Saturday Night Live yeah and even if it's not it's those moments that she will never forget and you most certainly will never forget that just because it's a safe space for them to have their creativity inspired by and to write about it yeah well and they Rick Rolled uh Jenny the other day what happened it started turning into a thing every time that's your life I'm like I know it's my wife yeah let's get her in here so Jen walks in and she always pretends like it's that's awesome yeah they're adorable but um but back to Penta um so he sent me that and I wrote back you know I came up with like a little story starter thing and then we said you know what I think we have something here and if I can show the camera we ended up writing this book super strange story starters yeah and we've been the second one is creative coloring and far out fun and this might be an exclusive on April 25th our third one's coming out and it's called unusual objects in fantastic places I just didn't even know how fantastic my timing was when I was like wait a minute is this new yeah that's funny when you called me yeah today I was like yeah well I'll pop up the books well you know what that's the beauty of having creative friends and friends that are in our our realm we're always making something new or working on something cooler because we get bored and we need to constantly create stuff exactly I I mean every day we wake up that's why I love my wife so much we'll go for walks and we'll just make up stories you know oh yeah that's just like oh yeah it's magical I thought she enjoyed it that is phenomenal I guess tomorrow I'll be walking the dog by myself we should attach our house key to her College oh yeah because I lost my my keys to the house well that's usually me yeah yeah where would the key go yeah but that's super I mean honestly you're doing it in your own life and you're doing that for children which I think is so important they are creative by nature and there's so much going on in there and to be able to have them find a place to spill that out onto and if you've never seen one of Ted's story starters tell people about how it works well actually maybe I could read one I would love that because yeah today today is international children's book day yeah and it is also um I think a picture book day for children's books also so yeah it ties right into what we're talking about today this is from Super strange story starters so for example Mark sends me this drawing and then he gets to walk away this is their creative process which I love that you're sharing that with us because I always wondered how it works because it's like okay there's this woman she's got a gift and there's a flying saucer what do I do with that okay so I said she looks like she's working or living in a retirement community so this is called Mavis Mendel warp is the alien Dater Mavis Mendel warp was frustrated she felt there wasn't a good man to be found in her town so she's moved to the Exotic Ponce de Leon fountains retirement community with the hope of meeting someone out of this world her wish came true the day the UFOs arrived while the rest of the residents evacuated she freshened her lipstick and picked an outfit that was sure to turn some cute alien heads Mavis headed down to the beach with a gift for one of those very lucky visitors little did she know the reaction from that gift would determine the future of mankind so now they would finish the story so what a child would be like what's in there and my gosh some of the stories I get from from just that one and I love that now now you've got do you inspire people to write that or take photos or share them with you on social because I feel like it's such a great connection yeah so Mark and I but Mark does a great job with our um Instagram page totally weird activity books Instagram also on Facebook um yeah and kids send it in and now we have a website and we're going to have a lot I love that just came out a couple of months ago yeah so all the material is now coming into it yeah so we'll so check out totally weird activitybooks.com as well and that's the joy for us yeah everyone has a different Mavis story right so that that's really cool um if I may can I absolutely okay here's an exclusive so again this is the book coming out in April and to give an idea of how we work we're being our best Vanna White so Mark sends me this drawing and originally it was just a school bus and I said first of all I loved it but I was like okay what am I going to do with that I said you know what I think this should tour bus and I have this fun activity where I write down band names okay like you have to hear someone talk about something and I'm like that's that's a good band name yeah yeah and um so I looked through my band names and I don't know why I had levitating frogs but it was in there so I came up with this the tour bus at Palm Tree Stadium the levitating frogs band formed when all four members met at a summer school science class in the seventh grade tag played guitar Arnie played bass and crutches was on drums crutches Jimbo green play a lick but he had Charisma and declared himself their lead singer he also named the band in memory of the frogs they dissected in class oh Jimbo was driving their tour bus through a blinding snowstorm thinking that it was probably time for the band to call it quits they had some success over the years but now they couldn't even afford a driver if we could do one more gig he thought as the wipers cleared the snowflakes the buses headlights illuminated a sign that read next exit palm tree Stadium that's a weird name Jimbo thought considering he was driving in Vermont since the rest of the band was asleep he decided to take the exit when he pulled off the highway the snow turned into a sand Sandstorm what the heck is going on he wondered the bus plowed ahead sunlight blinded him and they slammed to a stop Arnie shouted dudes we're on an island tag pointed at the sea look hundreds of boats were headed their way five minutes later dot dot dot there we go and there's your photo so then it inspires uh whoever is doing it you know what this is definitely a family activity too um it's so true with the creative coloring book in far out fun yeah the parents take over and they're like I wanted the color yeah but these are great even just you know instead of like going on you know your phone and all that stuff yeah you're driving along and that's how it started with me when I was a kid my dad would be driving to Canada and he'd say okay what's the deal with this guy and we would start telling stories I love it six kids and a great day yeah going to Canada in the station wagon there were a lot of stories there I'll tell you I'm sure they were here my mom playing um what was it Air Supply over and over those fun Creative Memories that we have as kids uh I love that you're bringing those to life when the situation that you're as your writer I mean you write what you know right exactly and you were taught you were raised by a writer so you were you were taught a lot of wild ways to think it really starts with storytelling and I always when I do the school visits I tell the kids you know I when I was five years old my dad would tell me bedtime stories but it wasn't about Knights and shining armor saving fear Maiden yeah you go I'm gonna tell you a bedtime story it's about a guy who escaped from the local prison and he's he's hiding in the in the woods right outside your window and I go I go daddy why is he hiding he was no first let me describe him he's got eyes as black as a February Knight and a crisscross scar and he's outside your window and I said I know Dad he already said that but why he said well because he's left something he used to live in this house and he left something in your room stop I swear and then then I go what did he leave in my room Daddy and then he'd go I really don't know I gotta think about that I'll finish the story tomorrow night and I'd be shaking there going oh you know so so the love of Storytelling hysterical and then I told him scary stories and I remember Mrs Holcomb God love her she was one of the best teachers I ever had she called our house in it was seventh or eighth grade when I had her and she said it's there is everything okay at your house and my dad's like why well your son wrote I won't even tell the story because it was I can only imagine and you over the top and then he goes he goes yeah he goes there's only one problem with that and she goes what he goes the title uh in the newspaper was way too long or something yeah but I won't even say what the title was I can only imagine and then she goes what he goes I'm a writer and she goes oh well that explains everything now I get it that is phenomenal and I love that you're sharing this now where can people find these stories because April vacation is coming up I feel like it those should be in the hands of every one of a certain age and it really honestly they're fun for grown-ups too yeah so um hopefully they're still at eight cousins and um there's the bookstore at Mashpee Market Street books perfect um but I'm gonna put it up there um I urge local bookstores we always say you know hey support your local bookstore yeah how about local bookstores support your local authors absolutely there's a lot of that that they'll go you know they'll take someone from Missouri or something yeah make a big deal and there's so much local writers here who are talented so many yeah yeah and give a shout out to your other creative Endeavors um because see Crow press yes absolutely phenomenal um yeah Marriott Crow press well now that I follow Crow I'm seeing other authors that are really really doing some cool things locally which I really love and I never would have seen it had you not brought me into that space well and when we talk about local writers um sandwich high school has a teacher Scott Childress who he's he's got ya books coming out and support him you know and that's what we do um but for me this is a whole different avenue because I have a book coming out called Macabre trophies in June it's a serial killer Thriller and Mary said you know what we have to have an imprint because you know it's not it's a different kind of book and you even changed your name as an author because um yeah I'm always like Declan Rush is in the house watch out if he needed another reason to have multiple personalities it's perfect now we've named them they have websites yeah and um yeah and I want to give a shout out to your husband who built my website declinerush.com it's fun for us to work with creative people because is sky's the limit on what we're gonna get into so it's just really fun to develop some of that and just be there on the ground floor and watch people step into their Artistry whether it's a a writer or a illustrator or somebody singing or some local stuff this is why we do what we do here at knock about every single week because we love to have local community members come in and showcase whether they're volunteering for our non-profit or whether they're creating something amazing in our community and we get to highlight that so we really enjoy having this moment to have you here uh what else do you want to talk about with the the totally weird activities books um well Mark and I just put our program together so I do my personal School visits but this is really cool Mark and I have just put our program and we just did our first one um where was it it was up in uh oh my gosh now I'm I'm blanking it was off Cape yeah um Steve capoca Falmouth guy he set it up and so that it's funny when you leave the cape you never leave the cape right and um and John antonusi who is the superintendent up there brought up brought us up and we had so much fun we went to the kindergarten first grade all the way up to fifth grade and that was a more visual you know Mark knows all that stuff yeah there's no way I'm bringing you know plugging into and just drawing for people yeah now he did live drawings oh that's very cool um we would create characters they pick out of a hat and we'd say so interactive yeah but it is it's wonderful to have that interaction but also how it works together that symbiosis and showing you know just because you're really good at this but you can work with somebody else that's really good at this and make something magical it's very cool for kids to see that because it's a sharing process it's a learning how to create together everyone has their own talents and I think that's what we show the kids yeah like they're like oh you draw some I can't do it you're right here's the stick figure no one wants to see my drawing so we might do that in the future and then he'll come in and be a fun I love it will you read for us another another one of the um little shorts here from is this from the new one um actually let me look let me show you I know because I've got a couple of little people that are online and we've got some little people in the studio here yeah so I definitely want to do this guys this is a creative coloring and far out fun so for example oh and I so in this book we're little people like Mark and I yeah are actually characters so I love that so little Ted and uh Edward the elephant escaped from the piccacilli circus to pursue his dream of becoming a famous artist so then it says this painting became his Masterpiece but what's on the canvas and then Mark says what did he create go ahead and color his picture and this whole page too I love that so you get to color it and then make it make a story with it which is both of them and and Mark being the artist he always stresses color Outside the Lines that's that's what life should be about yeah you know try something different and um so shop so some of the things let's see we got pyramid pops uh chocolate covered tarantulas King Tut's Taffy cute so then they would but then they can draw their own too yeah so there's like design a skateboard so so there's using many parts of their brain yeah so that's for our younger audience again I don't have any other story stars but for the new one yeah that's the news but this is going to be called um what was it well I saw that and I was like well that looks like a time capsule so it's time capsule in dinosaur valley okay and uh so at this uh 23 of these they're all different fabulous yeah and that's coming out April 26th uh 25th 25th but you you can actually you know pre-order now okay and I want to give a shout out to our publisher Turner publishing who's uh they just bought out our other company so we're kind of starting fresh with them okay and they loved it so much that this is also going to be available in hardcover oh very cool that wasn't originally planned yeah but the publisher is a really cool guy he's like I like that too because that's great for the car with the kids because they've got a sturdier surface and they don't need like a thing to put on their lap which I think a hardcover is really smart yeah yeah and and back to the point of just like if a parent is just reading it you know in the car yeah everyone's talking it you don't have to write it down right yeah it starts starts with storytelling I well I'm really looking forward to it unusual objects in fantastic places gonna be in stores April 25th you can pre-order it uh and grab it and if it's not in your local bookstore please ask why yeah exactly yeah and and one last thing just check out totallywearedactivitybooks.com um that's actually where they can pre-order perfect so but thank you Steph yeah get creative and get out today it's so nice outside but this is definitely a rainy day activity for absolutely any day wherever you're going take a unusual story with you uh The Murphys thank you very much for joining us today we'll be at knock about for another hour so if you want to come down and talk about your non-profit maybe plan a day with us um and you know the Easter egg hunt is happening here in Mashpee today so might be an hour to kill and hang out and listen to some tunes with us with lemonadeio so we appreciate it get creative today and have a great day awesome bye okay