What are you reading?

One is "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen, about a guy who worked with the circus during the depression years. The other I just finished was "Little Chapel on the River" by Gwendolyn Bounds, about a bar in upstate New York, right across the river from West Point. It's a fabulous book I could really relate to because the little chapel was a little mom-and-pop store with a beer bar in the back. And right now I'm reading "Roast Chicken and Other Stories," a cookbook by a guy out of London and it's terrific.

What stands out about them?

In "Water for Elephants," I think just realizing how hard life was back then, especially compared to how we have it now — how difficult it was just for these guys just to eat and shower, how difficult it was just to survive and, my God!, how easy we have it these days. And "Little Chapel on the River," because I've been in the bar and restaurant business for 20 years, it brought back a lot of memories about all the people who have come in here.

Do you connect with them because you also bring people together, whether at Murphy's or in your support of UH football and other local causes?

I think "Little Chapel on the River" made me realize that something I think I should be doing in my business I often get away from, and that's taking care of people and making them have a comfortable place to come to. It brought me back down to life a bit, and made me think about that. I love to see people intermix and get along and create relationships, and sometimes it's easy to forget about that.