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Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2020
Submitted to Contest #188
Complications Gary S. Crawford A bulb in the hallway ceiling light has burned out. It did seem a little gloomy in there with only one of two bulbs lit. Easy enough to fix, I think. So I head off to the dining room for a chair and to the pantry for a new light bulb. The glass globe is removed after the hard-to-turn thumb screws finally give up, requiring finding a pair of pliers to get them to cooperate. Then the bad bulb is unscrewed. The light fixture is a little loose, so after getting down and having to find a screwdriver, I get bac...
Submitted to Contest #186
October 1999 Here comes someone. Wonder who it is? Probably wants something. No one ever comes by unless they want something. I don’t know that car. Who is that? Oh, okay. That’s Steven, my sister’s grandson. Who’s that with him? Don’t know that guy. Hello, Steven. What brings you way up here? Who’s your friend? Hello, Barry. Nice to meet you too. What’s that? You’re a journalist? You mean a reporter, right? That’s what I thought. ...
Submitted to Contest #95
TOO MANY CHOICES In the early days of fast food establishments, things were simple. Most burger stands offered just hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, soda, and milkshakes. That was it. And it was all you needed. Even the buildings were simple, most just small stands with windows to place and receive your orders, with just an enclosure for a kitchen. You sat on an outside bench to eat, or in your car. Think of drive-ins without carhops. Before long, more choices were on the menu. Bigger fancier double burgers, secret sauce, chicken...
THE SHOT Sarge: Look. There he is. The sentry. He keeps coming in and out, looking around. He doesn’t see us. When he comes out again, we can just pop him and take him out. Private: Easy as shooting fish in a barrel. S: You ever shoot fish in a barrel? P: No, it’s just a dumb old saying that means how easy it is. S: Back home, we’d shoot catfish, right in the lake. They get close to the surface, and pow! Suppertime. P: Where I come from, only the bad guys had guns. I never fired a weapon until boot camp. But I learned pretty quic...
Submitted to Contest #77
I’ve always loved older architecture and I loved going to the movies. Through a friend with connections, I managed to procure a job as an apprentice union movie projectionist. In those big old theatres from a bygone era, I was in my glory. Some of the theatres in the seaside town were seasonal, only open during the summer months. Others maintained a normal schedule of evening performances with weekend matinees, and still others operated continuous showings, four or five shows from early afternoon on. My theatre was continuous. It didn’t ...
Submitted to Contest #76
“I’m sure glad that’s over with.” “Me too, Pete. A tough one. But it’s over. We flew our twenty-fifth mission. We’re done. We can go home now.” “Home. What’s that, Tommy? Home? Been so long since I saw home.” “For all of us, Pete. I don’t know how I’m going to handle being home. Is it still there?” “I hope so. I miss my family so much. My little brother, he joined up and is somewhere in the Pacific. My folks must be so worried.” “Ever show you a picture of my Betty, Pete?” “Yes you did, but I’ll take another look. Yep, Tommy, she’s a sweethe...
Submitted to Contest #74
One of those long boring cross-country trips again. Not much to do while passing the time. He waves at the occasional truck driver coming the other way, keeping an eye out for desert critters that might choose to run out in the front of the car. Beautiful scenery, an arrow straight two-lane highway that stretches across the desert, five miles or so to the horizon. Easy enough to be bored, mile after mile of the same thing. He uses those little lists to keep himself awake. Top ten lists. Let’s see now. He wanted to see a red eighteen whee...
Submitted to Contest #65
The group of people walking grew steadily in size as the sky to the east began to turn from black to purple to dark blue. They soon gathered in a large field, almost two hundred of them. The women in the black hooded cloaks walked up a short rise in front of the people as another woman, this one in a purple cloak, appeared before them from the crowd below. “Are you all happy?” the woman in purple asked them. The crowd murmured to the affirmative. Nods and smiles were ...
Submitted to Contest #63
I HATE APPLES I’ve been out of the dating game for so long, I had no idea how it worked anymore. I was surprised she asked me out. I hope this doesn’t turn into my turning into some kind of klutz she wouldn’t want a second date with. I can get frazzled when I’m around women, especially ones I don’t really know. The only time I ever had a real relationship was after knowing a girl a long time. Like with my sister’s best friend, we knew each other for years and I was comfortable around her. So when we started going out, first to the movies o...
Submitted to Contest #61
As of this writing, I attended my 45th high school reunion not long ago, along with my wife. She was part of the class two years behind me and she knew some of my classmates, so she was comfortable being there, unlike a few spouses I saw who looked very out of place. I was a little apprehensive about going. I wasn’t the social butterfly in school and didn’t hang out with a lot of friends. I wasn’t part of that top rung “beautiful people” crowd. I’ve seen a few classmates on a regular basis around town, so at least I would recognize them.&...
Submitted to Contest #59
“C’mon, honey. Let’s get aboard. It’s starting to get crowded.” “I don’t like this. I hate being on a boat. You know how I get seasick.” “Let’s go. We have to check in and find out where our cabin is.” “I hope it’s nice, for the money we spent on this cruise.” “You know the price wasn’t bad. That’s why we’re going.” “That money could be used for better things. You know how bad it is anymore. People out of work, losing their homes, and we’re piddling away money on a cruise.” “We need to get away. Things are bad, that’s why we need...
Submitted to Contest #58
I never liked the dark. It scares me. I can’t see anything. I feel powerless. Things I know are right here in the room with me are gone. Well, not gone, but invisible. I can’t see them. But I can trip over them. I should know where everything is, but for some reason, they jump out at me. And I hate when I kick that table leg. Every time it gets me. I stub my toe and it gives me a second or two before it hurts. It gives me time to think about how much it’s going to smart. Ouch. Even back in caveman days they could light a fire to see. Ancie...
Submitted to Contest #49
Consider, if you will, a study of human nature. A study of a group of older women, together in a physician’s waiting room, with little to do while awaiting their turn to see the doctor. Interesting turns of events happen as they each consider the complaints and ailments of the others, all the while, patiently, if that’s the word, waiting for their turn, in the Doctor’s Office Zone. * Oh, I’m so glad the doctor can see me today. My hands hurt. They ache so much from my arthritis. Ache? At least you can use your hands. I’m almost cr...
Submitted to Contest #47
I was going through some of my things and I found this. I was supposed to give this to you. When I got home, I just threw it all in the closet. I didn’t want to look anything over. I was home. For me, the war was over. I was a civilian again. You can take this uniform and burn it. Whoever said war was all glory and patriotic and romantic never had bullets flying over his head. Probably some brass hat in a nice office somewhere. Fighting over useless miles of desert. Ridiculous. If those people want to kill each other, let them. We’re on...
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