BRUCE MARTIN

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Oct, 2022

Stories (28)

28 Stories

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“LET IT RIDE!” by BRUCE MARTIN

Poetry is a beloved literary genre that utilizes the hidden beauty of language to express certain prosaic truths and morals. From Wikipedia, poetry is “a form of literature that evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound and rhythm.”

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“YOU COULD BET YOUR LIFE ON IT” by BRUCE MARTIN

Bucky McKeever was sick and tired of not having it all. Everywhere he looked, he saw men living large; high on the hog, if you will. As a low-level manager at a large investment firm, he was surrounded by the high-voltage energy of day-trading and financial wheelings and dealings. His boss, Mr. Jonathan Stevens, a man of only 35, was already a multi-millionaire; a graduate of Wharton Business Sch...

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“THE NIGHTMARE” by BRUCE MARTIN

(This story contains issues of health, including HIV infection.) There is a well-known aphorism warning people not to get sick just before or during the July 4th weekend. Why, you ask? Because this is the day each year that a new crop of interns takes the reins of medical management in the hospital wards throughout the United State...

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“A DESIRE TO DIE” by BRUCE MARTIN

I remember the first time I wanted to die. I was nine years old and we were visiting my grandparents. After dinner, my grandfather said he didn’t feel well and had to lie down in bed. They called for an ambulance. I sat on the window sill of his room and watched him while he lay there moaning. And I thought, “I guess this is what it looks like as death approaches.” And it seemed very pleasant and excitin...

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“THE CHINESE DELEGATION VISITS THE WHITE HOUSE” by BRUCE MARTIN

(With Acknowledgement to Abbott and Costello)The Chinese contingent visiting the White House, made up of current and past leaders:Xi Jinping (Paramount Leader)Hu Jintao (Paramount Leader 2004-2013)Wen Jiabao (Premier)Hou Guofeng Wat Lien Chan

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“THE CAPTIVES” by BRUCE MARTIN

I have been a prisoner in this camp for more than one year. Many of us have died, mostly at the hands of our captors, but some from disease and trauma. Somehow, I have survived, but it hasn’t been easy.They beat us mercilessly today with leather straps. At least four men surrounded us and whipped us. They yelled at us, “Move, you stinking beasts!” They made us run into a wooden structure, then locked us in. I was afraid they would light the structure on fire with us locked inside.But whipping is not the...

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“HONESTY PAYS” by BRUCE MARTIN

Isidore Beckerman relished sitting down with a good book on the weekend. He had always loved reading, favoring detective mysteries and adventures, with the occasional how-to manual or inspirational text a close second choice. Following his usual Saturday morning breakfast of oatmeal with maple syrup and a banana cut in, Isidore made himself a nice, steaming cup of coffee and ambled over to his bookshelf to peruse his ext...

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“DEATH AT THE GRAND CANYON” by BRUCE MARTIN

There are individuals in this world whose success is predetermined. Hailing from wealthy families and spawned of experienced and wise parents, their paths in life and the trappings of their existence are paved in gold. Their only requirement to achieve success is simply to show up.Then, there is another type of individual. This is the self-made variety, those who had to work and strive for every advantage, to scrape bottom and endure hardship, power through life’s difficulties, and reach the pinnacle of success on their ...

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“RATFACE OF THE ELDERLY” by BRUCE MARTIN

Mickey Murinian hated the reality of getting older. It wasn’t the aches and pains that caused him such angst. It wasn’t the difficulty playing tennis or inability to run with his grandkids that he disliked so much. It wasn’t even the fear of his own inevitable mortality that gripped his psyche. Mickey Murinian was extremely vain. And whenever he looked in the mirror, he was witness to the ravages of age....

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“INNER BEAUTY” by BRUCE MARTIN

John Stenheimer wanted to kill someone. And not just anyone. He wanted to kill a Black man or a Jew. Either one would do; it didn’t really matter. As the leader of a local neo-Nazi group in a Southern state, he had to set a certain example for his followers. He had just earlier given a powerful, riveting speech to his acolytes, leading them in the chant, “Blood and soil! Blood and soil! Jews and Negros w...

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“A MAN'S LIFE” by BRUCE MARTIN

As the horticulturist could predict the type of defective flower emanating from a diseased and desiccated seed, the life course of a man could be equally reckoned by observing his beginnings. Jim Tomlinson, a wreck of a man, had chosen the wrong parents, and thereby suffered the consequences. His father was a capricious and jealous old goat, prone to sudden explosions of violence and abuse, with alcohol often the acceler...

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“RETRIBUTION AND REDEMPTION” by BRUCE MARTIN

Billy Matthews was a delicate child. Thin of build and sensitive of soul, he was just the kind of young person sought by bullies. And, as one would expect, bullies did find him.His tormenter, Scott Russell, was a hulking, aggressive boy with a huge chip on his shoulder. With the advantage of having older and younger brothers with whom to fight and play, his personality, confidence and physical skills were forged into a powerhouse. Boys like Scott tended to be charismatic as well, attracting a coterie of followers who fee...

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“A LAST MEAL” by BRUCE MARTIN

A LAST MEAL Sentenced to hang for the murder of his wife, Frank Stemmer had not for one moment stopped proclaiming his innocence. The trial was fairly straightforward. Circumstantial evidence all pointed in his direction. Three eyewitnesses saw a man who fit Frank’s description running from the murder scene, and all three identified him in a police lineup. A smudged finge...

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Author bio

All of my stories are totally fictional, and fully copyrighted.