Paul A. Merkley
Bio
Mental traveller. Idealist. Try to be low-key but sometimes hothead. Curious George. "Ardent desire is the squire of the heart." Love Tolkien, Cinephile. Awards ASCAP, Royal Society. Music as Brain Fitness: www.musicandmemoryjunction.com
Achievements (1)
Stories (106)
Filter by community
Jack Dempsey. Runner-Up in The Aquarium Challenge.
It was hard to give Jack up. We'd been with each other through thick and thin. When we moved here there hadn't been much for me at first. I'd left my friends behind. Cousins too. I had no brothers or sisters, so not much. Lots of TV stations in this new place, but there's only so much Jeopardy and Perry Mason a guy can watch, you know? And Sundays, Sundays were slow. Not even the FBI on Sundays. Dad was stuck on Ed Sullivan and Have Gun Will Travel. Topo Gigio is okay, but even so...
By Paul A. Merkley3 years ago in Petlife
Dinner with Friends
Magilla Gorman arrived late to Girls Night Out, and slid his very large frame into the booth. That was okay because they always left one of the end seats of the booth open for him, seeing as how Magillla was claustrophobic. How bad? The eminent psychiatrist, the best in Geyserville had asked him that, explaining that with the new phobia cures you can get over almost anything. Magilla told him he couldn’t wear a coat in the car, even unzipped. The psychiatrist, as Magilla told it, lowered his voice to a semi-hypnotically suggestive whisper, and said, “Just stay away from closed-in spaces and it shouldn’t be a problem.”
By Paul A. Merkley4 years ago in Fiction
Cracking the Sleep Mystery
I suck at sleeping, and in the past five years it has been harder (worse) than before. There. I’ve said it. I’m not embarrassed to admit it because, chances are, if you are reading this, you, or someone you know and want to help, has a little or a lot of trouble sleeping too. Yes?
By Paul A. Merkley4 years ago in Lifehack
How I'll Pick your next Incarnation
Hello, I am an inter-life circumstance adjuster. The Souls at HQ asked me to write this piece so that you, humans, will be better informed. We don’t really expect you to make better choices, dear me no! That would be hoping for too much. We’re just tired of your making all of the wrong assumptions, so our Human Information Division decided it was time to do something about that. After all, we’ve been flooded with processing here for the past two years. Perhaps I should explain.
By Paul A. Merkley4 years ago in Fiction
Ironing, Piano, Nuns, a Psychic, and Coming of Age. Top Story - September 2021.
I’ve had lots of turning points, but the one that marked my coming of age, I’d place that one when I was 18 and in my last year of high school. We moved a lot when I was a kid. My father was an engineer. He designed cranes, conveyors, and overhead highway says, mostly for small to medium sized companies all over southern Ontario. I usually felt like an outsider, but I don’t blame that on moving, more on being a misfit, and not trying hard enough to make friends.
By Paul A. Merkley4 years ago in Confessions
The 'Idea Cat' of Seniors Junction
My name is Winnie. It’s short for Winchester. My human, Paul, said Winchester sounded too serious. Paul, my sister Daisy, and I all work in our home office for Seniors Junction. It’s very important work, and I do my best to keep the team productive every day. Seniors Junction is a startup, whatever that means. I know that we have recorded a lot of podcasts, and I have made sure that I appear in every one! Sometimes I tried typing a bit on the computer keyboard, but Paul shouted, “No Winnie, don’t walk on the keyboard.” I also make sure the webcam gets a good view of me as I walk on the desk.
By Paul A. Merkley4 years ago in Petlife
Working to give Purpose to Others
I never dreamt that, at age 65, having retired from a hardly known area of the university work, I would or could get a job enriching and saving lives and preventing dementia, but that’s what’s happened—here I am, and I love it! Let me explain.
By Paul A. Merkley4 years ago in Education
