Could a middle schooler's life be more dynamic than you think? Meet Piper Lapine, my spirited 12-year-old niece from Summit View Academy, who shares her exciting journey from cheerleading to discovering the thrill of gymnastics, volleyball, and track and field. Piper also talks about her academic triumphs, especially her love for math, and her fascination with mystery books. Plus, she gives us a glimpse into her culinary adventures, making it clear that she's a young individual with a rich and balanced life filled with school, sports, and personal interests.
In the second part of our chat, we savor the joy of family meals and laugh about kitchen mishaps that bring us closer together. We honor a mom who excels at making the perfect steak and creating balanced weekly meals. From quick bites like chicken nuggets and Doritos to our favorite chicken alfredo from Domino’s, food is a central theme that brings us all together. As we share our appreciation for these delicious moments and plan future family dinners, you'll feel a warm, neighborly connection that makes this episode truly special. Join us and be a part of our family, even if just for a little while.
Could a middle schooler's life be more dynamic than you think? Meet Piper Lapine, my spirited 12-year-old niece from Summit View Academy, who shares her exciting journey from cheerleading to discovering the thrill of gymnastics, volleyball, and track and field. Piper also talks about her academic triumphs, especially her love for math, and her fascination with mystery books. Plus, she gives us a glimpse into her culinary adventures, making it clear that she's a young individual with a rich and balanced life filled with school, sports, and personal interests.
In the second part of our chat, we savor the joy of family meals and laugh about kitchen mishaps that bring us closer together. We honor a mom who excels at making the perfect steak and creating balanced weekly meals. From quick bites like chicken nuggets and Doritos to our favorite chicken alfredo from Domino’s, food is a central theme that brings us all together. As we share our appreciation for these delicious moments and plan future family dinners, you'll feel a warm, neighborly connection that makes this episode truly special. Join us and be a part of our family, even if just for a little while.
Speaker 1:
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Mike Murphy.
Speaker 2:
Thank you, charlie. My name is Mike Murphy, host of the Good Neighbor Podcast, normally talking to business owners, but some of you may recall that I interviewed my grandson a few weeks ago and today I'm interviewing my niece. So, ladies and gentlemen, my niece, piper Lapine, is here to just kind of have a discussion with me, so I can learn a little bit more about her, and you can too. So, piper, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 3:
Thank you very much too.
Speaker 2:
So, piper, welcome to the podcast. Thank you very much. It's nice to have you here. You and I don't get to spend a whole lot of time together, just one-on-one like this, so this is, it's a nice experience for both of us.
Speaker 3:
It is for me.
Speaker 2:
I hope it is for you too. Okay, good, so let's just kind of start out with the basics. As I've said, your name is Piper Lapine. Yes, tell us what's your age. Where do you go to school? All that good stuff.
Speaker 3:
My age. I'm 12 years old and I go to school at Summit View Academy.
Speaker 2:
Okay, where's that at?
Speaker 3:
It is in.
Speaker 2:
Kentucky. Well, good to know. So what grade are you in?
Speaker 3:
I'm in seventh grade. Well, I'm going into eighth grade, okay, so I might as well call myself an eighth grader.
Speaker 2:
Is eighth grade high school, or is that still middle school?
Speaker 3:
That's still middle school, I'm pretty sure, okay.
Speaker 2:
And do you have a best friend at school? Yes, okay. Do you want to give a shout out? Who's your BFF at school?
Speaker 3:
My best friend is Kayla Barton. I have a lot of access with her. I love her so much and we're hanging out tomorrow.
Speaker 2:
Okay, good, all right, well, that's nice. Well, for today, though, you get to hang out at the Murphy household. So aren't you lucky At school? I mean, I know I've gone to a cheer competition in the past when you were cheering. I think you've kind of decided that you're going to try some other things. So let's talk about that a little bit. Cheering you did did great, by the way. I was so proud of you. It was fun to watch too. But you've moved on from cheering. You're trying other things. Something that I, I know, kind of got you started on the athletic path is you started gymnastics when you were pretty little, right? Yes, okay, do you still like gymnastics?
Speaker 3:
If I could go back to it, I would.
Speaker 2:
Okay.
Speaker 3:
At any moment.
Speaker 2:
All right I would go back to it. Yeah, I mean. Well, there's nothing saying that you can't just do it for fun, just for exercise and, you know, to keep you in good shape for other other sports that you're doing. Um, you're a volleyball player too, correct? You like volleyball? Yes, Okay, Are you? When is volleyball season?
Speaker 3:
Um, it's around July 22nd and July 24th.
Speaker 2:
Okay. So I see you're wearing a track shirt. Okay, you're promoting track and field. Tell us about that. When you're running track, what are your events?
Speaker 3:
I do hurdles and sometimes I do relays.
Speaker 2:
Okay, what's your favorite event?
Speaker 3:
Probably 200 hurdles or a 400 dash.
Speaker 2:
Okay, are you, are you fast or do you? Do you have stamina? Are you? Are you typically built for sprint or for long distance?
Speaker 3:
I would say that I can run kind of a distance, but I mean, doing a 400 is great because I get to kind of warm up on my first go and then I get to just like sprint, take off all the stamina I have.
Speaker 2:
Have you ever had an injury?
Speaker 3:
Yes.
Speaker 2:
Okay, ever had an injury? Yes, okay, I know that I've had lots of friends that were in track and field runners that end up, you know, just with the normal injuries like shin splints and things like that, but sometimes it can. It can get pretty bad. I mean, you can really, you know, mess up a knee, but you seem to have been pretty well unscathed in all your sports endeavors so far. What would you say is your absolute favorite sport of all time?
Speaker 3:
I would have to say my favorite sport of all time, I would say gymnastics.
Speaker 2:
Okay, so it's always going to come back to gymnastics, huh. Well, that's a good basis for all the sports, like I said, so I hope you can keep pursuing that. Now, when it's not time for sports at school, you were in the classroom. What kind of student are you?
Speaker 3:
A very good student. I get A's and B's all the time.
Speaker 2:
Okay, well, of all the classes that you take, what is your favorite class?
Speaker 3:
Math.
Speaker 2:
Really, yeah, okay, I'll tell you. You and I then are polar opposites, because I hate math. Wow, I'm just not. My brain's not wired that way.
Speaker 3:
My brain is.
Speaker 2:
I'm more of a writer type of guy.
Speaker 3:
I used to be, but it's changed.
Speaker 2:
Do you like to read?
Speaker 3:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
Okay, what type of books do you read?
Speaker 3:
I like to read a lot of mystery books.
Speaker 2:
Okay, I'm more of a movie watching guy. I spend a lot of time writing and editing, so when I'm done with that, I like to just sit and be entertained by a movie.
Speaker 3:
Just like Harry Potter.
Speaker 2:
Something like that. I'm a Star Wars guy. I like all the Star Wars movies. Some people can't stand them. Some people are like Lord of the Rings. Some people are't stand them. Some people are like Lord of the Rings, some people are like Harry Potter. I'm more the science fiction type. I guess I like the space-based stuff. You let's see. I know in the past you and I have talked about you liking to cook yes so I just wondered if maybe someday you wouldn't be a chef.
Speaker 2:
I don't know if that's your, your ultimate path, but I just think that, um, anybody who at such a young age just shows an interest in cooking, automatically adults think, oh, you're going to be a chef someday.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I got that a lot.
Speaker 2:
That could be the case, you never know. But for now, if you think of yourself having a career, what do you think that career would be?
Speaker 3:
My career would be a lawyer or a model.
Speaker 2:
Okay, those are two. I don't want to say extremes, but they're very different, so one requires a heck of a lot more school than the other. But I can tell you, um, modeling can be really, really lucrative, especially today like influencers. So the sky's the limit. You do whatever you want to, but I would just say, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Yeah, you know, make sure you continue to do well in school, and then the world is your oyster. As they say, the sky's the limit. You can be whatever you want to be. So I guess that's one of the good things about being 12. Everything is still ahead of you, so you can still try things out. You can still dream, just like you're trying out different sports. So, let's see, I know something that the listeners probably don't know, and that is you and I are part of a whole group of family members that are getting ready to go on vacation.
Speaker 3:
Yes.
Speaker 2:
So where are we going to go?
Speaker 3:
We are going to Florida.
Speaker 2:
Is Florida your favorite vacation destination, or, I guess, of the places you've been to, or where is your favorite place?
Speaker 3:
I would say Michigan.
Speaker 2:
Oh, okay.
Speaker 3:
It's most of where everyone was born. It's probably a lot different place than a lot of other people's decisions, but I don't want to go someplace where you can see, like the beach or something. But I don't want to go someplace where you can see like the beach or something. I feel like it's a lot nicer to see nature.
Speaker 2:
And then Michigan has a lot of good food. Yeah, a lot of family ties to Michigan and our family. We have taken many trips up to Michigan and, as you know, I'm a huge Michigan football fan. So, yeah, I'm a big Michigan person too, not just for the football, but the state of Michigan. Mackinac Island is a great place to visit.
Speaker 3:
Especially Ann Arbor.
Speaker 2:
Ann Arbor is a lot of fun yeah, Especially in the fall around football season, but I mean just a lot of trees. It's just very pretty in Ann Arbor and I like walking around Ann Arbor and there's just a lot of fun things to do. So maybe you and I will get to be part of a trip together to Ann Arbor so that you can actually go with me and your dad and others and watch a Michigan football game in person.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, that would be really cool.
Speaker 2:
All right. Well, I hope we get to do that together someday. So whether you end up being a model or an attorney or a chef, you're going to make money, and if you make money, you spend money on a car. Yeah, so what kind of car do you see yourself driving?
Speaker 3:
The car I see myself driving is a white Jeep.
Speaker 2:
All right, that's pretty cool, yeah, like the type where you take the top off like a Wrangler or like the big nice SUV type type Jeeps.
Speaker 3:
I mean I would do fine with both, but I do like the regular original Jeep where you can take the top off. Feel the wind through my hair.
Speaker 2:
Right, all right, that's. That's good, that's. I didn't know that about you, but all right.
Speaker 3:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
I agree with that. That's a pretty cool choice. I know that because you and my grandson, declan, are always chatting it up online and hanging out together virtually. I see that you guys are online gaming a lot, yeah. So when you're doing that, what are you playing?
Speaker 3:
We are playing Roblox.
Speaker 2:
Now, do you bug him to do it or does he bug you to do it?
Speaker 3:
He bugs me. 8 am every morning I get a call Want to play Roblox Sure.
Speaker 2:
All right. Well, that explains a lot then, because it seems like every time I turn around, he's talking about playing online with you.
Speaker 3:
So it's like an alarm.
Speaker 2:
That's your little wake up call.
Speaker 3:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
OK, well, that's good though, because you know you guys live not terribly far away, but you know far enough away where it's not convenient to get together in person. So I'm glad that you guys get to maintain that relationship virtually at least. I'm not so sure that people would say it's good to spend a lot of time playing video games.
Speaker 3:
Yeah. Somebody needs to go outside for a couple of minutes.
Speaker 2:
Yeah right, get some sun on your face and, yeah, I actually live a real world, not a virtual world. When you listen to music, what type of music do you like and do you have a favorite singer?
Speaker 3:
The music I like is very pop, hits, kind of new songs and my favorite singer is Sabrina Carpenter new songs, and my favorite singer is Sabrina Carpenter.
Speaker 2:
Okay, well, I'll tell you I'm very old because I have no idea who that is. I'm more of a Led Zeppelin guy, or or classic rock, you know. But yeah, I I've never heard that name before, so I've've maybe heard a song of hers and just don't realize it. So do you force your dad to listen to that music when you're driving in the car?
Speaker 3:
Yes, sometimes he turns it on yeah, other times he probably doesn't want to.
Speaker 2:
What music does he like to listen to in the car?
Speaker 3:
Well, when we were driving over here to do the podcast it was like some hard rock classic metal.
Speaker 2:
All right, I was getting into it, okay. Yeah Well, he and I kind of grew up listening to a lot of the same stuff, so that's why. So is there anything, before we shut down this episode of the podcast that we haven't talked about, that you want to talk about? I don't know. Do you have any questions for me? Have we covered everything? I know one thing that you had told me before is that your mom makes really, really good steak.
Speaker 3:
Yes.
Speaker 2:
So do you want to give her a shout out and maybe put your order in now so that after she listens to this she can get cooking? And does she make a lot of steak?
Speaker 3:
She makes a lot of good, healthy meals. It wouldn't be just the regular burgers every Tuesday and Wednesday and then you got some 10-ounce steaks for Friday. Thursday Goes through the whole week. She makes a lot of good, balanced meals.
Speaker 2:
Okay.
Speaker 3:
As you can tell, I'm still pretty skinny.
Speaker 2:
Don't eat too much. Well, take it from me. It gets harder and harder to stay that way the older you get, but you just stay active, eat right and everything will probably work out in your favor. I would say so. You like steak and your mom makes excellent steak. You said it's like butter, you can cut it with a.
Speaker 3:
It's like Carlos and Johnny's steak it's so good.
Speaker 2:
All right, but if you, as a 12-year-old, are home by yourself, I would hope you're not going to be so ambitious as to make a steak.
Speaker 3:
Mm-mm, I'd burn the house down.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, well, I mean, I've been accused of attempting that a few times too. I'm not allowed to use the stove anymore when, um, when Suzanne's out of town. She's like I don't want to run the risk of you burning down the house because, um, I have been known to leave the? Uh, the stove on, uh, after I removed the that's not right, the pot and the pan, and yeah, so, yeah. So she's on to me that, yeah, I'm getting old and I can't be trusted with the stove.
Speaker 3:
To stop that madness.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, to coin. To use a phrase of Declan's yeah, stop the madness. So I've stopped the cooking madness, but if you're home alone, what is it that you tend to make for yourself?
Speaker 3:
Some chicken nuggets, and then I get a bag of Doritos.
Speaker 2:
All right. So much for a well-balanced meal, huh.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, or I just get a lunchable out of the fridge.
Speaker 2:
Okay, all right. Yeah, I tend to just slap together a quick sandwich. I don't have the patience to really cook a lot. When it's just for me, I like cooking for other people. I like having people over for holidays and cook a big meal To me. That's relaxing, that's fun. Especially when they say wow, this is really good, Makes you feel really good about yourself and I'll say you know, I'm overall a good cook, but I've had some disasters.
Speaker 3:
Me too.
Speaker 2:
But you can't really screw up chicken nuggets and Doritos too badly.
Speaker 3:
You really can't.
Speaker 2:
But your favorite dish, like if I say what's your favorite food, what would that be?
Speaker 3:
My favorite food is definitely chicken alfredo.
Speaker 2:
Okay, yeah, I love that, but again doesn't love me A lot of calories in that dish. But man, oh man, is it good?
Speaker 3:
Especially from Domino's.
Speaker 2:
Okay, all right. Well, all right. Well, now I know what to get you for your birthday Gift certificate to Domino's, so you won't starve to death. Yep, well, that's enough of a conversation for now, because we've been talking nearly 20 minutes.
Speaker 3:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, time flies when you're having fun, right? I'm just glad that you were able to come over and sit and do this with me. Um, I know when you heard declan's podcast, you said, oh okay, I'm next yeah, well, it was definitely a good laugh yeah, and you know what?
Speaker 2:
it's good for us to have this to look back on one day. Um, it's, I think it's it's just good that, um, we can look back one day and see when you were just this little 12 year old, long before your modeling career took off like I looked like that yeah, well, I'm just glad to have you here and get to spend some time with you.
Speaker 2:
And let's shut it down for now, and let's just agree that you and I will do this every once in a while and check in together and just see how not only your life's changing but how my life's changing. But for now I'll just say, piper, thanks for coming over, thanks for spending time with me. But for now I'll just say Piper, thanks for coming over, thanks for spending time with me. You and I have to get ready and Declan's going to come over and we're going to go to dinner. Maybe we'll have some chicken alfredo or some really good steak, but probably not Sadly.
Speaker 2:
Sadly not.
Speaker 3:
I'm not sure where we'll go, but Hopefully somewhere good.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, and somewhere close. Okay, well, I'll say goodbye. Say goodbye to everybody out there.
Speaker 3:
Bye everyone.
Speaker 2:
We'll pick this back up next time, don't know when, but hopefully it won't be too long, so until then, just say goodbye to everybody, everybody. This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, so be good to your neighbors Until next time see you everybody.
Speaker 1:
Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Union. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnPUnioncom. That's GNPUnioncom, or call us at 859-651-8330.