Bob Faszczewski

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2021

Stories (131)

131 Stories

2637 karma pts

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“Recycling Lives” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #175

Near the end of his trash collection route in the Gold Coast of suburban New Jersey Tommy Robinson stumbled over the doubled-packed trash bag–knocking its contents across the roadside on Commonwealth Turn. For the third time that week the objects spilling out of the polyethylene garbage can liner stopped the veteran sanitation man in his tracks. Of course, in his 30 years on the job, both in the most well-healed area of suburbia and in the most ru...

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“So, We Meet Again” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #174

Jarod hurried to answer the door, although he in no way looked forward to what stood behind it-–the cleaning service delivery person bringing back the blue blazer he hadn’t worn for decades. No reason for a blue blazer, or any formal attire for that matter, when you spent your entire existence piloting a fishing boat or contemplating the Atlantic Ocean off the back deck of your luxury condo. The blazer, however, now made its appe...

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“Discovering His Real Station” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #168

Discovering His Real Station The colder winter weather had arrived a few weeks early this November in South Amboy, New Jersey. Yet, Sam B...

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“Frozen in the Record Books” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #167

Frozen in the Record Books For many years the alarm clock sounding at 4 am and the cold wind blowing through his bedroom window had brought an exhilarating rush of blood into every pore of Jim Lombolardo’s body. He couldn’t wait to get out on the frozen isolation of Lake Placid and put skates to the polished surface preparing for the routine that he felt would lead him to the fulfillment, fame and fortune that only achieving his lifelong goal would bring. In fact, he had slowly chipped away on his path to greatness in every performance he...

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“The Final Volley” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #166

As Irina Ubetekov charged across the court at Wimbledon she returned each serve with more deliberate power than she had put behind any of the thousands she had made during her storied 10-year career as the now top-ranked woman player in the world. She believed this historic contest, unlike any of thousands that had come before, would cap off her climb up the summit of the tennis world, and this could be her final tournament. She wanted to go out with a flourish on her record, avoiding the dreaded “40-Love” at all costs. For the winner of ...

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“The Day Everything Stopped” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #155

Struter Jones rushed to the corner to catch the 7:58 Fifth Avenue bus. As usual, she had timed every action in getting ready for her daily work grind down to the last second. No fan of her current dull-as-hell-go-nowhere clerical position, she did only what she had to do when she had to do it, as every day she searched for the miracle job that would take her out of the morass that had defined every day of her life for the last five years. However, little did Struter know that her life and her world–indeed, the world of every other person on...

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“Finding a New Relevance” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #154

Finding a New Relevance William Skupski opens the microwave door and, once again, spills the hot drink, barely avoiding scalding myself. Such “accidents” interfere in his life far too often and leave him “stuck in first gear” in a world dominated by w...

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“So, We Meet Again” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #153

So, We Meet Again Jarod hurried to answer the door, although he in no way looked forward to what stood behind it-–the cleaning service delivery person bringing back the blue blazer he hadn’t worn for decades. No reason for a blue blazer, or any formal attire for that matter, when you spent your ent...

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“Defeat of the Mountain Curse” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #152

Defeat of the Mountain Curse Alpine darkness descended on Durkulin Castle like a death shroud wrapping a corpse. The subconscious thoughts of “temporary” castle resident John Stimpson and his recurring nightmares kept him from getting the rest he so desperately needed. John’s life recently had gone off the rails with no...

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“Rewind” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #151

Former ace reporter Joe Stillman walked slowly along the Assateague Island beachfront deep in thought about the eventful life he had lived prior to his retirement to Maryland’s beautiful Eastern Shore. Suddenly, however, as he approached a little too close to a herd of the island’s wild ponies, one of them kicked him in the head and knocked him out. After what seemed like an eternity Joe woke up in a daze. He found himself transported ...

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“Dead Bodies May Not Tell All the Tales” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #149

A December-like chill overtook me soon after I entered an uncharted area of the Pokomoke State Forest on Maryland’s Delmarva Peninsula. I didn’t know exactly what sinister force had captured me and driven me here, but it had me in its power and it was impossible to resist. The sudden burst of arctic cold knocked me off my feet, almost into an abandoned well. I almost fell into the middle of its darkened abyss. The cold in particular startled me because it this took place in the middle of June, not th...

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“Long-Term Lease” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #148

“Rebel and defend your rights,” “Don’t let the government bullies push you around,” “Do we live in a democracy or not?”--the loud slogans blasted across every window on Karen Singleford’s new car and shouted from the door of her two-bedroom walkup in the Seacrest Arms Luxury Apartment complex. Karen, the single mother of two pre-teen sons, Harry and Jarod, made no secret of her disdain for “health regulations” imposed during the influenza endemic and what she considered the clear danger they presented to her fre...

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“Curtain Call” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #147

Harold and Alice sat alone in the darkened West Ocean City theater waiting for the featured film to start. For about five minutes the silence enveloped them in a calmness that provided a pleasant relief from the cinematic bombardment they had endured during the barrage of trailers when they had first entered the cinema. Then a deafening din assaulted their ears as a blinding light took over their visual senses. Of course, since the theater’s chief offering for this afternoon feature...

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“Ascending the Staircase of Life” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #146

William Skupski stands in the darkness at the bottom of the Stairs of Life seeking more perfect direction in his climb to the light that will guide his journey and help others in completing their journeys. Often stuck in the back of his mind clawing to get out–the principle he thought should guide all actions in life–but for which William never had found the answer most satisfactory to him,“What Would Jesus Do?” On the deepest em...

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“The World's New Wardrobe” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #145

Ralph threw the last carton on the shelf–glad to finish the final incoming load in the stifling home furnishings warehouse. He couldn’t wait to shower, change into “street clothes” that would let him feel human again and head for his favorite watering hole down Main Street. He believed that, after a few “cool ones” even the flea-bitten, fly-by-night boring rural outpost of a town where he had wasted much of his life might start to look good. &nbsp...

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Author bio

Bob Faszczewski is a curious writer who loves exploring different themes and motifs. He has produced two recently-published collections of fiction-science fiction stories about travel across the timeline, "Taming the Timeline" (available for sale on saltwatermedia.com) and "Locking Arms with Giants (available for sale through Amazon Kindle and Amazon.com.). Both also are available for sale at Greyhound Bookstore in Berlin, Md. Bob has published the following short stories in magazines in a number of genres: ."Bloodstains on the Ledger"--Ink and the Sword.com . "Tragedy Near the Corpse Light--or Because of It"--Mystery Tribune.com . "Cadaver in the Forest"--Adelaide Literary Magazine . "Heard It Through the Grapevine"--Flash Fiction.com . "Resetting the Clock"--Academy of the Heart and Mind . "The Turkonians Are Coming"--CleverMag.com.