Paul Fletcher Murray

The guy on the next hilltop over

Reviews

"I am dead serious when I say, this made me cry. thanks... this should be published somewhere."
Mike P.

"99% agree with what you wrote.....Love to see it in every major newspaper in the editorial section..... with a ton of positive letters from the public."
S.C.

"May I share this with my book publisher. You're in the wrong business. Your writing is FANTASTIC~!"
E. K.

"Bravo. Great read. Emanating .....truth."
D.G.

"I love his stories and would like to walk in his shoes for a day... but they're too damn big."
Marci M.

"Really good piece of writing, Fletch. You ARE valuable to the army. The other army, the one that still cares about the right kind of "war". Not a war of force, always, but a war of ideas. Thanks for sharing this very important part of you."
Jim M.

"It took my breath away."
Bob G.

"This guy is a terrific writer. Has he tried to get this published on the op-ed pages of any newspaper? I'd sure start right at the top - with the NY Times. I'd love to meet him some day... My kinda guy."
Sylvie D.

What is this?

These are my stories about life.

My viewpoint is that we are going through this life together.

And while we’re here, we can shut up and stay in our cubicle,

or we can step outside and, whether we live in an urban jungle or in the country, we can climb to the top of our hill and let each other know we’re here, alive. We have a voice.

I’m just the guy on the next hilltop over.

Why are you doing this?

Two things:

1) I decided to start communicating (telling my stories) when I was jogging through the graveyard of All Saints Church in Fulham, England. Each gravestone noted the people who lived and the years they lived, but who were they? These graves went back hundreds of years. I wanted to know their stories… But now they are silent. I wish they had left a testament.

Then I thought about how we, the living, are mostly silent about our lives and what we think - the things we believe in, as John Denver put it.

2) There are forces in our society today that want us to sit down and shut up. They want all the talking to be done by the pretty people and know-it-all newsblabbers. They don’t want the common man to have a voice. To them, the common man is dangerous.

Well, I’m going to have my say and I hope these stories encourage you to have your say.

So I started writing stories about my life and sending them to my family, then to my friends.

They gained popularity. Friends asked if they could send the stories to others. I’ve been urged again and again to submit to The New Yorker and The New York Times. But these people were “civilians”. It wasn’t until a professional writer for The Los Angeles Times urged me to “go public” that I decided to start the site.

3) (I know I said two things but there’s really a third.) As a journalist the fire to share the truth still burns in me. I’m disappointed with some journalists who’ve sold out. When you only report the truths that forward your agenda then you have compromised your integrity. You are no longer a journalist. You’re a pawn. So, for all the journalists who feel like I do, we are going to start another site soon to help the truth get to center stage, unspun, balanced and true. We’re looking for men and women of grit.

“Grit”: firmness of mind or spirit; unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger

What do you want me to do?

Read the sampler of stories above. If you like them and want to be on my weekly email list, contact me above.

The graveyard silence will come soon enough. So for now here are some stories of life from the guy on the next hilltop over.