James Dale Merrick
Bio
I have had a rich, and remarkable life. Sharing my adventures brings me joy.. I write about lots of things. I tell about building a home in the rainforest, becoming a life model, love, death, grief, and retiring. Please join me.
Stories (20/0)
BECOME A LIFE MODEL
BECOME A LIFE MODEL Written by James D. Merrick, July 13, 2021 Pose nude? No way! Rethink that feeling. You can do anything you set your mind to. I did. At sixty-eight years of age I became a life model for college and university art classes in the area where I live, Bakersfield, California. For twelve years, posing dominated my life with exciting, challenging, and rewarding experiences. And I got paid for it! You can too—at any age.
By James Dale Merrick3 years ago in Journal
SCATTERED LIVES
SCATTERED LIVES Written by James D. Merrick, January 27, 2005 Prologue: This is Juan's story. It tells of his illegal crossing into the United States on May 14, 1994. At the age of twenty-nine. He dared to believe he could create a life for himself with only the clothes on his back and his self-determination.
By James Dale Merrick3 years ago in Humans
THE FINAL HOUR
THE FINAL HOUR Written by James D. Merrick , March 28, 2015 6:00 AM. Tilton Town. Allan’s gloved hand inserts the ignition key. The Malibu coughs, belches into the morning gloom, then sputters to life. It moves slowly away from the sleepy apartment building and sloshes down the potholed driveway onto rain-slicked County Road. It’s heading toward the truck dispatch office perched on Tilton Mesa and Allan’s delivery assignment for today.
By James Dale Merrick3 years ago in Fiction
THE PROMISE
THE PROMISE Written by James D. Merrick , June 1, 2021 Come back with me to my first December in my very first home. Yes, of course, I had lived in other places, garages mostly, for all of my nine years. But this day signaled the start of the first Christmas I would celebrate in the first home my folks had ever owned. Beams of early morning sunlight had melted the frost on the kitchen’s windowpane, near where I sat. On any other day, I would have stared outside and marveled at Mom’s winter garden. I would have watched blackbirds fight for a position in the sunlight on the cables sagging across the spaces between telephone posts at the rear of the property. But that day was different. The golden orb’s warmth penetrated the pane and cozied into my shoulder blades as I reclined against the glass. On that day, I sat cross-legged on a padded chrome chair with my back to the curtainless kitchen window, my chin rested on the palm of my hand as I watched wide-eyed while Father busied himself at the counter. Dad was baking!
By James Dale Merrick3 years ago in Families
GRIZZLY TASK
GRIZZLY TASK Written by James Merrick January 9, 2021 In a remote farmhouse and behind the closed door to a child’s bedroom, a metal bed awaits daybreak, mattress removed and iron-strap springs scrubbed free of rust and dirt--an altar ready for its sacrifice.
By James Dale Merrick3 years ago in Poets
CORPORAL MERRICK
CORPORAL MERRICK Written by James Merrick , July 8, 2021 One of my dad’s wartime stories actually became a family tradition. It was a tale he was asked to tell time and time again during gatherings of our clan. Since his death in 1999, the torch has been taken up by other family members to the delight of young and old alike. This is my version of his experience. I hope it brings a smile to your face and a lasting memory.
By James Dale Merrick3 years ago in Serve