Roger Merritt @ Geocities
 Interests: history, travel, art (not modern), the Bible, Anglo-American relations, European culture, classical music, gardening, canoeing, frisbee... I also like LIBRARIES--hence, why I work in one. I used to visit several libraries in London. It was the perfect haven on a cold, wet day! Thankfully, London has a wonderful system of public libraries that are well distributed across the city. Also, I used to work at the Tennessee State Library & Archives in Nashville, TN, where I was a Library Assistant, and an Assistant Archivist (1988-1990). This opened up for me all kinds of interesting historical manuscripts for the State of Tennessee. I processed original collections about prominent Tennessean's who were judges, lawyers, teachers, Civil War officers, World War I & II veterans, doctors, and more. But what fascinates me most is European History.
 And that's why I am an Anglophile...I lived in London from 1986 to 1988, and then again from 1990 to 1994. I lived in four different locations all in Southeast London: Thornton Heath, New Cross, Brockley, and South Norwood. These are some of the most hilly, and picturesque areas of London, and very culturally diverse. London is extremely congested compared to most of my experience in America, but that was what made the atmosphere so alluring. Southeast London neighborhoods are slightly more pastoral than the rest of London, with their hilly inclines, parks, gardens, markets and difficult to navigate roads.
I admire the Victorian houses that are so ubiquitous in London. I lived in four different Victorian houses, and did some decorating such as painting, wallpapering, carpeting, and gardening. The house in Brockley where I lived for a year and a half was part of an architectural conservation area with closely knit houses from the 1850's to 1880's. After Linda and I were married, we lived in a house for two years in South Norwood that was at least as old as 1868.
 I traversed my London as well as any human being could: by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, car, van, train, bus and tube. I dare say that I know London better than most Londoners! My church work took me to the darkest of public housing estates, squalid homeless cardboard, gypsy caravans, and ordinary homes of working class people. I became accustomed to many varieties of people, and nationalities. You could say that I knew more non-English people than English.
O.K., I'm a little bit partial to S.E. London, but I also have a great appreciation for many areas of the metropolis. I have visited and studied the many faces of historical London!!! I love the old world charm of the London of Shakespeare, Samuel Pepys, William Hogarth, Dr. Samuel Johnson, John Wesley and Benjamin Franklin (that's right, Ben Franklin!). And I find irresistible the famous lives of Londoner's like Charles Dickens, Henry James, Charlie Chaplin, and the notoriously turbulent history of the East End (one of my favorite perambulatory routes, but only in day light!). And so much more... "Come, we will walk. I pray you, let us satisfy our eyes with the memorials and the things of fame that do renown this city."--Shakespeare
As you can see... my family moved around a lot when I was young. This is because my father was a college Speech teacher. He has taught at Kansas University, Alabama Christian College (now Faulkner University), Ohio University, Ohio State University, and Eastern Illinois University. Although he really enjoys teaching very much, he retired in December of 2000, after 38 years of teaching. Dad was finally able to fulfill a life-long dream in April 1995, when he went to Athens, Greece on Sabbatical Leave to do research on Classical Rhetoric. He also went to Crete, and Turkey.
 Both my parents, Floyd & Betty, grew up in Middle Tennessee in Coffee and Bedford Counties. Although they lived in other states for many years, they remained strong Tennesseans at heart! They recently moved back to Tullahoma, TN, in March 2001, to be closer to family. I have one sister named Melanie, and she is married to Michael Shane Neal. They live in Nashville, TN. They are both very artistic, and Shane has become quite a successful portrait painter. See Shane's official Website.
(This site was last updated: February, 2006) "When one is tired of London, one is tired of life"--Samuel Johnson © 1996-2006 rmerritt@mscc.edu
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