He was in no hurry. On a beautiful day such as this, every moment was one to cherish. The breeze was rustling through the palms ever so gently as the white willow wisps of clouds painted ghostly shadows on the gently rolling hills. It had been a long time, lifetimes to Paul since he strolled…
Author: Joe Merkle
You Can Only Be You
That is a good thing You can only be you. That is a good thing. As a child, I dreamed I wanted to be Superman, The Flash, Spiderman, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Zeus, Davy Crockett, Tarzan, Zorro, Paul McCartney, and others. It is my firm belief that I was not unusual. There is nothing like a…
Dear Nancy
My love A letter to my wife. Dear Nancy, As you well know, I was just 21 when we met. I had no clue what love was. Like everyone else at that age, I thought I did. Upon reflection, nothing could be further from the truth. If someone at that time told me that I was going to…
You Are My Life’s Summary
It was you, always you I was twenty-two when I met youIgnorant of life’s possibilitiesYou brewed your special brand of stewI lost all my sensibilities Up ’til then I was directionlessNever thought about tomorrowTime and space were meaninglessJust a contestant in a game show Hi, I’m Nancy, you saidMomentarily I lost my tongueWishing then we…
Make Anticipation An Occupation
Expect the best for yourself Few things in life offer greater gifts than anticipation. Take a moment and reflect upon some life experiences you eagerly anticipated which gave you great joy. Do you recall those late springs as a child when you couldn’t wait for that last day of the school year? Freedom! Freedom to roam the…
Pondering My Next Vacation
Such a daunting task Choosing a destination vacation is a challenging task for a seventy-year-old man. I’ve done the beachy hotspots. I’ve been to mountains and deserts. I dove off Key West and San Diego. Now I am searching for that unique vacation. Listed below are some that I am considering. Now as intriguing as…
A Soul On The Wing
A puppet on a celestial string the dance of moonbeams across cresting waveslends to daydreamsof hopes I’ve yet to attain footprints in the sandstragglers left behindballads are sung by a heavenly bandurging me to stay aligned waves lapping at my feetI stare into a starlit skythis human form seems obsoleteits existence hard to justify I’m just…
My First Date In 48 Years
It has been thirteen months since my wife died. I have been suffering different stages of grief for most of that time. Then about three weeks ago, a switch flipped within me. It became apparent that I would keep waking up each morning so I might as well try to join the living once more. I kind of went crazy. I…
Her Most Prized Possession
The key It was Abbi’s tenth birthday party when she received the greatest gift of her life. Though she didn’t know it then. After she opened all of her presents she couldn’t help but notice her favorite person in the world did not give her a gift. Her Grandpa Joe. “Abbi. Come outside with me…
Trust And Love
They go hand in hand Which comes first? Love or trust? Can you love without first trusting the one you are sharing it with? Can you trust someone without first experiencing love on some level with said person? Or, are they simply the left and right hands of any feel-good human relationship? The vast majority…