Nice Guys Finish Last?...I Don't Think So!

So you say that nice guys finish last, do you? Well my Grandfather might have something to say about that! However, I'm going to say it for him, because it's the least I can do for one of the nicest guys I've ever met. I also owe it to him since he was "nice" enough to work three jobs so that one of his eleven "nice" kids (my mother) could grow up in a very "nice" home and one day raise a "nice" Grandson (me). Therefore, not only would I not be here if it weren't for him, I also wouldn't be nearly as "nice" myself if it weren't for my incredible Grandfather, Jim Murphy.

He just turned 97 years old, yet he still drives his car from Rhode Island to Long Island to visit his twenty Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren. One of the last times he came to visit was with my Aunt, and since she drove the car, I was inclined to ask my Grandfather if he was still able to drive. Looking incensed, he replied, "I sure do, and I'll drag race you in the street right now, kiddo!" Not only does he still drive, he also lives on his own, walks a couple miles each day, lifts weights, goes to church daily, and most impressively of all, he volunteers to help the elderly who need assistance at a retirement home. Ironically, more often than not, he is much older than the people he is helping!

He has never been a rich man when it came to money, but he who measures true wealth and happiness by their bank account doesn't understand the meaning of wealth to begin with, do they? Furthermore, I think that the Donald Trump-type wealth, which so many "non-nice guys" aspire to have, certainly would have spoiled all of his children and made us all much less appreciative of the more important things that we all have: Love, health, and cherished memories.

So, in what other facets of life would you say that nice guys finish last? Getting the girls, perhaps? Wrong again! My Grandfather met the love of his life at a community dance in Brooklyn, some 70 years ago. They fell in love at first sight, got married in less than a year, had eleven children and lived a very happy, fruitful life together, until her untimely death.

Although he now resides in a nice quiet cottage in Rhode Island, he lived most of his life as a "nice guy" on Long Island. He has run the cow harbor 10K in Northport every year until a few years back when a knee injury sidelined him for good. Newsday's John Hanc actually wrote an article about him a while ago because he was the oldest man to finish the race. I believe he was about 93 at the time and I'm not sure if the record still stands. Too bad Mr. Hanc wasn't there to see him finish the LONG ISLAND MARATHON, a few years before that! Yes sir, my Grandfather lived a very "nice" and exciting life on Long Island, filled with countless memories he still shares with all his children today.

So when you talk about my Grandfather, the word "last" only applies to him if you're talking about the "last" man standing amongst his generation...wait, check that, he's running, not standing. So of all the "guys" I've met in my life, I'd have to say that my Grandfather is arguably the "nicest" of all, and rather than finish last he managed to finish first in just about every true category one might use to measure happiness. Thanks for passing on the "nice" gene to me, Grandpa!