I look really old in this picture and I could never figure out why..... Then, about a week ago, something hit me and I dug around and found my birth certificate. Suddenly I realized that I'm 56 years old (almost 57)! My first thought was, "What happened...? I wasn't this old before!" I consulted with my physician and, according to him, this is a completely normal and to be expected.....whew! Anyway, I was born February 10th, 1952. Relatively speaking, that was quite some time ago. I didn't really start tinkering with computers, with seriousness, until I was almost 50. So I feel as though I'm doin' pretty well to be running my own web server.....and to still be working and breathing (considering the way I lived most of my early adulthood!).

My life, in bulleted list form....

• Birthdate: 2/10/1952 - Flint , Michigan
• Education:
  Carman High School, Flint, MI -graduated 1970
  University of Michigan - Bachelor of Science in Psychology, graduated 1991
• Married: well, a few times.....finally got it right.
• Kids: never had any, which I regret
• Siblings: one "half-sister", Lynn. She is a smart beautiful, lady - and as far as the "half" thing goes, I believe it's from the waist up - I was never quite sure how that went...
• Pets: Too many too mention - I have always been a huge animal lover and constantly rescue animals (which is a hobby I cannot afford). Currently have 4 dogs.... But I like cats, gerbils, racoons, coyotes, and anything else that means no harm and inhabits the planet. You can see pictures of my wife, dogs, etc. by clicking the relevant link on the left menu.
• Religion: raised with none... I read the New Testament when I was in my early twenties and was powerfully moved. I don't go to church, and respect anyone's belief's. On the other hand, if there's a God I would suggest that, based upon his behaviour, Jesus Christ must be one of His very close relatives...
• Politics: I'm some sort of independent. Basically, I'm a quirky old fart who, on alternate days, is either incredibly conservative or a wildly free-thinking Libertarian. I don't have a real category.
• Regrets: Being a drunk, at a couple points in my life. I view alchohol as the worst drug on the planet. It's promotion, in all sorts of media, sends me through the roof....
• Concerns: The inhumanity of man and the ecology. we have spent the last 60 years poisoning the planet and, only now, are trying to make it right.

Career

I was a professional musician for most of my life - I played the piano, organ, and various other keyboard instruments. I actually started performing, professionally, when I was 14 years old. I ended up being offered a job with Mickey Gilley in 1980, just after the release of the movie "Urban Cowboy"; at that time Mickey Gilley was a huge star. I'd done some work at Gilley's studio, in Pasadena, Texas, and that's how we met. I was arranging songs for a budding songwriter - Sandy Knox - who went on to write most of Reba McEntire's biggest hits (and who is a bright, funny, lovely person). Anyway, Gilley offered me a paltry amount of money and a lifestyle which would rarely allow me to see my wife and pets - I was flattered but completely uninterested - something my Dad could never understand. I ended up working in Las Vegas for a number of years as the musical director for a singer/comedian (Roy Clayborne). A few years ago - for a number of reasons - I pretty much stopped working as a musician. I miss playing and would like to work again. I have played in hotel restaurants, for years at a time, and play and appreciate wildly diverse styles of music.

Over the last decade I have worked, usually, as a salesman. I'm not all that great in that capacity as I constantly find myseld telling the truth. I win a lot of friends and my employer doesn't make nearly what he should.....

Hobbies/Interests

• Horsing around with the internet. I run my own Linux web and mail servers and design web pages and waste a lot of my life dinking around on the net. At the bottom of this page you'll find links to sites I've designed and run from my server...

• Writing. I have always kept a journal and, simply, enjoy writing for no reason in particular. I've always been able to sort things out, best, by putting my thought on paper (or, now, on a computer). I actually had a satirical short story publshed in a small literary magazine while I was at the University of Michigan. There's a link in the left-hand menu to some things I've written, including the short story which was publshed....

• Pets. I suppose that another hobby, of sorts, is being something of a parent to the menagarie of animals which seem to find their way into my life. They're my surrogate children.

• UFOS/Extraterrestrial Life. Until 1994 I never had any inordinate interest in UFOs. That all changed one morning (Friday, March 18th, 1994) when I encountered an enourmous, silent triangular craft hovering above the freeway just south of Flint, Michigan. I plan to write about that, in depth, somewhere on this site. It was a very odd and life altering experience.

Well, was that riveting....or what? Anyway, now you know a little bit about 'ol Guy Merritt Jr.

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