BEN MURPHY: "COME HOME WITH ME!"

Teen Life, May 1972

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BEN MURPHY'S home the San Fernando Valley is a great place to visit. It's also a treat. Since Ben loves to cook, especially out-of-doors, your visit will give him a chance to show off his talent as a chef.

Once you arrive, Ben proves he's the kind of guy who wants to get to the heart of things--he leads you right through his small utilitarian apartment, where books are stacked on shelves, on furniture and on each other, and takes you right out to his back yard, where he has already started a fire under a huge grill. A fan of organic juices and health foods, he will offer you a chilled glass of apple cider as you wait for your steak to cook.

Ben loves casual clothes, and a comfortable pair of jeans with a serviceable shirt is his favorite outfit for entertaining. As he bends over the grill, his muscles are clearly defined under the thin shirt material. You understand how he keeps so fit when you find out his hobbies include swimming, skiing, tennis and horseback riding. Even as he grills your dinner you can see that intent, serious look on his face that's the earmark of someone who puts everything he has into life. And right now, he's concerned with entertaining you as well as he can.

After a delicious dinner, you will lean back in one of the comfortable lawn chairs for a nice chat. Ben has had many interesting experiences, and he's always willing to share them. In fact, he's already filled several scrapbooks with his travelling stories and souvenirs and hopes to write a book someday based on the contents of those scrapbooks.

Next to sports, Ben loves reading best. His favorite books are the classics, and also contemporary philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Kahlil-Gibran. He's kind-of a philosopher himself: he believes in life and living it to the fullest. In short, Ben is unaffectedly delighted at the prospects his own life holds for him and has great hope's for his own bright future.

And does he hope to share that future with some lucky girl? The type of woman Ben could fall in love with must share his interests and his love for travel. Ben says, "She has to be a person who makes no demands on me, and one I make no demands on." Ben pauses a minute and then adds, "It's the relationship that's important." He smiles that serene smile at you smile back because you can dig what he's saying.

But the time passes before you know it. And you're soon saying good-bye to Ben. He makes it clear that he hopes you'll come back to see him again and, no doubt, you yourself can't wait until you make another visit.