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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Nov, 2024
Submitted to Contest #316
Daniel: A Different Kind of HeroGary Grissom Daniel looked as if he had stepped off the screen of a horror film. He was tall and muscular but had a large head with dark brooding eyes and a four-inch scar on the right side of his face. His lower lip was usually pressed down by his tongue which protruded slightly. Daniel always sat in the back of his classes at Dana Jr. High and ignored the lessons the teachers were giving. Everyone feared him. That is, everyone except coach Brock who saw athletic potential in Daniel. “Stick your tongue back i...
Submitted to Contest #313
The Last VisitGary E. Grissom I turned 80 on May 20th. Looking back on my life, I realize I’ve had a good one. Not all good of course, but mostly so. However, I must admit that I cringe when I recall some of the stupid things I did or said in my days of misspent youth. For instance, there was a wild night in Tijuana when a friend and I outran some cops to avoid being taken to jail. We had defended a young woman who slapped a jerk for pinching her on the butt. But the cops had only seen us fighting the creep who had accosted her and we were ...
Submitted to Contest #305
This story contains a frightening incident of a man exposing himself to the protagonist when he was a child. However, I survived the situation and I'm glad that I could write about it. Baldwin HillsGary Grissom At the intersection, I could go right and head home – but turning left would take me all the way to Baldwin Hills. Yes, Baldwin Hills, which I had viewed longingly from my school yard at Palms Elementary for the past school year. In that year, 1957, Baldwin Hills beckoned to me like an enchanted land where there were trees, deer, r...
Submitted to Contest #300
3314 Keystone AvenueGary GrissomAbout twenty years ago, my sister Kathy and I decided to take a drive from Temecula, California back to a small section of west Los Angeles called Palms. It is near Culver City where the MGM studios used to be. This was going to be a “sentimental journey” for us in that we had lived with our family on 3314 Keystone Avenue from the summer of 1955 to the fall of 1958.The house was very old and Palms was a very old neighborhood. We were the last family to live in that house. It was going to be torn down and an ap...
Submitted to Contest #295
Buffalo NickelGary GrissomI was painfully shy and had very low self-esteem when I was in high school. For example, when I would get up the courage to phone a girl, I would stutter as soon as she would answer and say hello. I would say “Th-th-this is-is-is” and then I would hang up before I would say my name. At least the girl didn’t know who I was, I would rationalize. After doing this several times, I finally confided to my big brother, Lee, and he suggested that I take a deep breath and then try scatting jazz notes while I dialed the girl’...
Submitted to Contest #293
First Class PassengersGary E. GrissomRon Scott and I had gone on a weekend pass from Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, to his parents’ home in Pittsburgh. We had flown there by using military standby status on an America Airlines 707. To get military standby reduced tickets, you needed to wear your uniform. We felt very lucky to get two seats on the plane and looked forward to an exciting weekend away from the fort and to be wearing civilian clothes again. Ron’s father met us at the airport at 7 p.m. and drove us to their home.“I ...
Submitted to Contest #292
Rainbow WednesdayBy Gary GrissomI’ve always felt that each day of the week has its own color. Monday is deep blue, Tuesday is turquoise, Wednesday is rainbow colored ,Thursday is tangerine, Friday is scarlet, Saturday is dark green and Sunday is yellow. But originally, I thought Wednesday was purple until I shared these thoughts with a woman in my creative writing class at Mesa College. Her name was Diane and she told me she had always envisioned Wednesday as being rainbow colored. I said I loved that image and made the change in my mind. Di...
Submitted to Contest #287
Two Tea FriendsBy Gary E. Grissom Being an accomplished acoustic guitarist and singer, I never took karaoke singing seriously. I realized, though, that it was probably a fun way for non-musicians to at least have the experience of singing in front of a live audience. However, I had decided that I would never try it because I had developed my own style of performing and I didn’t want to break away from it. But after meeting a friendly English couple who lived in my senior community of Stoneridge, I accepted their invitation to go with th...
Submitted to Contest #281
InebriaBy Gary E. Grissom Thomas Collins, a young alcoholic, was driving home from what he believed was the best New Year’s Eve party he had ever attended. Unfortunately, Thomas was inebriated from drinking too many Margaritas. He had received a DUI a few years ago and he’d had his license revoked. He had even gone through the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous; but now he had gone off the wagon because he felt he could certainly handle the effects of only one Margarita. Of course, the one Margarita led to two others before a friend reminded h...
Submitted to Contest #275
Ghost GirlGary E. Grissom In the past, I had never thought too much about ghosts. Maybe they existed, and maybe they didn’t. But one afternoon while tuning my guitar and preparing to perform some folksongs in O’Hungry’s in Old Town, I noticed a little girl wearing old fashioned clothes standing near the small stage. As I smiled at her, she clapped her hands and said “Oh boy! I love to hear the guitar played.” “Well, in that case,” I said. “I’m going to sing a song called “Riding in My Car” just for you.” She had a puzzled look on her face a...
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