John Steckley

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2021

Stories (18)

18 Stories

382 karma pts

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“His Last Written Work” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #251

His Last Written Work The man known as a child by the name Eric, but who changed it as an adult, was writing as fast as he could to create a greater change. He had great trouble breathing these days and was worried that this would be the one book of his that would never got finished, that tuberculosis would not make such an achievement possible. He sat up on his hospital bed writing most of his waking hours. Maybe in a day or two the book would be completed. He still had hope, despite the deterioration of his physical con...

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“Who Is This Writer?” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #250

Who is this Writer? The writing professor had asked for John to stay after class as he had a “special assignment” for him. John wondered what it could be. His marks were pretty good so far, and he didn’t want to do something that might lower his grade. “John, I’m sure that you are wondering what my ‘special assignment’ is for you. First off, I want to tell you that I think that you write well. I know that you want to be a reporter, so I thought I would give you this assignment to help you take a step forward towards your ...

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“Lost and Found” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #249

Discovering that I am Lost           I am so lost. I shouldn’t be surprised by that though. Not knowing what I am doing or why I am doing it is an increasing part of my life these days. This kind of ‘what am I doing and why am I doing it’ began a few years back when I turned 70 years of age. I would open the refrigerator door, and have no idea what it was I was looking for. I would stare and stare and eventually would give up and shut the refrigerator door. ...

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“Late But Still Great” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #249

Hank is Worried About Being Late for an Important Date Why is it that I can never find something I am looking for when I really need it? In this case it is my formal shoes.  I’m not old and forgetful as my father is fast becoming.  I seem to be way ahead of my aging with this aspect of life. The only shoes I can find are my old running shoes that I wear every day. That is not something that I should wear when going for a job interview in a hospital.  I need to find my formal shoes that I only wear going to a play or ...

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“This is Going to be an Adventure.” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #247

This is Going to Be an AdventureDiary Entry #1 – The Project I haven’t written a diary since I was 12 years old and experiencing new things at a friend’s cottage. This one will have a double purpose – to remind me of that experience, and, with a little good fortune, to tell others, students and colleagues, of what I have discovered with this project. I don’t know what I will find, or whether I will find anything. It is going to be an adventure at the very least. My studies as an archaeologist have been limited to analyzing other pe...

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“The Game Became Serious” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #246

The Game Became Serious They were two teenage Canadian boys who had moved into the deep south of Oklahoma in order for their father to get a new job that paid way more than the work he did previously. It was difficult for the boys to fit in, as their way of speaking was different from that of the locals, and they were big fans of hockey, and no other sport. There was no one they could talk to about their favourite sport.           Concerning the latter, they had taken apart two...

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“A Family Tradition in the Sky” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #245

Ralph’s grandfather Jack had long been his hero. More than anything else, he liked to hear of his grandfather’s research when he was at university. Before he retired, Jack had been a high school science teacher, and his area of greatest interest had been astronomy. It still was. His literally stellar research essay that had earned him his Bachelor of Science and the enduring respect of his professors at university, had been on the subject of astronomy, with an emphasis on comets. Grandfather Jack had a special relationshi...

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“A Dangerous Picture to Take” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #244

My long-time friend James was looking very down-trodden these days. I did not feel that I could ask him about it, as he very much did not like to talk about his emotions. He had been like that since the two of us were teenagers in high school. When I came over to visit with him and his wife Ethel, I thought that I could see the cause of his unhappiness. Ethel was treating him badly, making cutting remarks about his job and the way that he dressed, among other things. This was definitely not something that he would talk to...

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“They Taught Me to Speak” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #243

The family of humans that I live with taught me to speak and to understand their words when they spoke carefully and slowly to me. What they did not know was that my learning did not end with what they deliberately taught me: “Polly want a cracker? Who is a pretty bird?” and other such parrot clichĂ©s. I listened carefully when they were in the living room, half of which had become an aviary, and learned much more than they ever suspected that I knew. To keep their suspicions down, I tried never to say in their presence wo...

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“Meetings in the Night” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #242

Meetings in the Night Everyone was there on that particular night, ready to talk to the others. That was somewhat unusual, as generally at least a few of them did not make an appearance on a night. The dark-haired woman was there, of course. She always was. She said a lot in these sessions that was reflected in her uncertain smile. Tonight was a night for making plans. Everyone wanted to take part in this critical stage of their existence. They generally felt that they were being exploited by the corporation for...

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“But This Is a Betrayal” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #241

Sam spoke, “But this is betrayal.” The difference between their relationship on Tuesday and Wednesday was like day and night, March suddenly reverting back from spring to winter.TuesdaySarah speaks: “I’ve never met a man that is so incredibly excited about having children. That is a large part of my attraction to you.”Sam replies:           “Sarah, as you know I come from a big family. All my brothers and sisters have wonderful kids that I love so much. Now I can have...

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“Which Job Should I Choose?” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #241

Now I have to choose. I applied for two different jobs, and both potential employers said that they were interested in interviewing me. Both jobs looked to be essentially the same. I mean, I am an accountant.  How different can the two jobs be?  I had both interviews today, and both companies expressed an interest in hiring me. You’d think I would be able to see which one is best suited for me. But it wasn’t going to be easy. It had been a long time since I had applied for a job. The small company that...

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“A Crumpled Piece of Paper” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #240

From the partially open, third floor window of a hospital a crumpled piece of paper fluttered and fell, landing on the ground and then rolling and bouncing away, driven by the wind across the parking lot to a busy city street. At that point it was primarily propelled by the passing of car after car down the road, without any of the drivers or passengers taking any notice of its presence. It reached the end of its journey getting stuck in a bush in front of a building almost as big as the hospital, and in some ways serving the same ...

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“A Mighty Wind Showed Me the Way” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #240

The day of the launch was April 25, a symbolic day for those who go sailing on their own, who read books with a deep history, and who took at least one English literature course in university. Even though high winds were predicted as a possibility, I still had to leave on that particular day. At first that seemed quite alright. I hadn’t sailed in a number of years, but I wasn’t worried, at least not at first. Caution hasn’t come with age for me. I am just as impulsive and foolhardy as an old man as I always was as a ...

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“A Voice from the Past” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #239

My grandfather’s old radio had always fascinated me when I went to visit him when I was a child. When I stayed with him and my grandmother, the two of us would do ‘man’s work’ there, digging up the small stream that ran from the pond. We would also pile up fallen branches in the wooded area beside the house and light them on fire which we would watch carefully as if to protect the forest from a sudden, unexpect...

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Author bio

I am a retired college professor who began writing short stories not long after my retirement.