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George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Nov, 2019

Stories (280)
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280 Stories

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Exile of Argus MacGuire

Submitted to Contest #309

“Take one more step and I’ll blow ya to Kingdom come.” A red-bearded man dressed in a kilt with blue tartar held a musket aimed at some discarded crates a few feet from where I had landed my skiff. Using an eighteen-horse powered outboard motor, I navigated the choppy waters from the port of Tagharry to this unnamed jutting pile of rocks a few kilometers west of Deasker Island in the northern Atlantic Ocean.Standing with my hands in the air, not daring to move a muscle, the large man spoke again, “Don; t’ink I won’ pull the triggah. The be...

3 likes 1 comment 1
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Distant Memory

Submitted to Contest #308

I recall my wife’s voice as if I heard it just yesterday. Memories can be deceiving, however. The distant memories can come to life right before your eyes, while things that happened in the recent past get clouded and lost. I would like to tell you how I reflect on my distant memories, but you’d probably think I was daft. At this point, it really doesn’t matter to me. “Vernon!” She called out to me as I was working in the yard. “You have a phone call. I shut the engine of my lawnmower off and walked to the front porch where she had been ...

5 likes 2 comments 2
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Haunting Lessons

Submitted to Contest #307

“Where am I?” I asked as the door closed, and I stood in complete darkness.Silence.“Is anybody here?” I could feel the panic surge through me like an electrical current. My eyes might as well be closed as the absence of light made me feel totally blinded.What was I doing before I came here? How did I get here? Why am I here?“Welcome.” A voice sounded from the darkness.“Who are you?” I panted, “Show yourself.” “We have a few questions for you.” The voice sounded demanding.“Not until I know where I am.” I definitely snapped. Laughter, deep a...

9 likes 5 comments 5
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When the Sunset Falls Hard

Submitted to Contest #306

When the Sunset Falls Hard When I look back at the ending scene, it reminds me of a movie script. And so with a heavy heart, I will attempt to write the script that I have just lived through. I am the hero. The writer is always the protagonist but believe me I am not feeling very heroic. (Scene opens with a panning shot of my street around lunchtime during summer break) Narrator: (Me. I play both protagonist and narrator) This is my street, Greentree Drive. It’s not very exciting at the moment, because it’s lunchtime. Lunchtime mea...

5 likes 2 comments 2
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Cover Up

Submitted to Contest #305

Cover Up I was once asked a philosophical question by one of my graduate students. She asked if there was ever an instance when telling a lie was a better option than revealing the truth. My mind instantly thought of several instances in history where political leaders chose to cover up the truth. Later the leaders justified the tactile advantage of a cover up which would lead to a more favorable diplomatic situation in the long run. After mulling this over for several minutes, my answer was a definite maybe that left me some wiggle room....

11 likes 4 comments 4
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Uncle Freddy's Writers' Boot Camp

Submitted to Contest #304

I saw an advertisement in the U.C. Davis college news bulletin as I was sitting on a bench near Bixby Hall across from the Dining Concessions. Join Uncle Teddy’s Writers’ Boot Camp Program starts on June 10th Be there or be square June 10th happened to be the start of summer break. I was supposed to be on my way home to Tracy, California. I would have to break the news to my mother Tammy Wiggins that I did not pass my philosophy class and might have to take it next semester in August. I could just about hear her harping on about not put...

10 likes 2 comments 2
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Father Forgive Me, for I Have Sinned

Submitted to Contest #303

Cancer is the cruelest ending to a life. All you can do is sit and watch the person you love be consumed in an everlasting cloud of misery. Everlasting until the person breaths their last breath. That describes the hell I have lived through this past year. The sunrise is bursting through the window shedding light on all that was once holy. I can hear the birds chirping merrily in the trees as I sit here in this room. This room of death watching my wife Emily struggle to take another breath. Her breathing has become raspy and shallow. ...

8 likes 3 comments 3
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I Wound Up in a Ditch

Submitted to Contest #302

It is hard for me to believe that I learned how to drive a standard transmission when I got out of the military at 36 years old. The old saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” had to be overcome if I was going to drive my new Mazda home with the standard transmission. I needed a reliable car that was good on gas mileage since my job was over thirty miles away from my front door. In city traffic, it took me forty minutes to get to work at R-House in Rincon Valley east of Santa Rosa from Rio Nido. Getting to work meant I would hav...

10 likes 3 comments 3
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Swimming with a Shark

Submitted to Contest #301

I have always had a mortal fear of sharks ever since my Uncle Roy told me about the USS Indianapolis. He told me about it after he played Jaws on his DVD player when I was about ten years old. That movie would forever haunt me when Robert Shaw as Captain Quint tells the true story of the ill-fated mission. Growing up in Southern California, I heard stories about surfers who encountered sharks while riding the waves. In high school, my best friend Nolan Bates became enamored with surfing and kept begging me to go with him. I did accompan...

4 likes 4 comments 4
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Last Call at Finnigan's

Submitted to Contest #300

Herb van Claussen is in the middle of his joyous retirement party.Everybody is having a good time, patting him on the back and congratulating him for being with Berkermans for over four decades. Yes, everyone is having a blast except Herb van Claussen. Time like a tide came too quickly and he feels he is being washed out into the sea. “Hey, Herb, got any plans for your retirement?” Brett Highmyers asks as he delivers a friendly slap between Herb’s shoulder blades. Wincing Herb grimaces answering, “Gardening.” Brett’s expression changes to o...

7 likes 2 comments 2
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Cold Peas for Breakfast

Submitted to Contest #299

Childhood trauma can last a lifetime. For me, my trauma revolved around peas. There is a valid reason why this trauma exists that stretches all the way back to when I was five years old. To this day, I cannot stand to eat peas. The taste of them makes me gag. In some cases when peas are mixed with other food items, I may get away with eating them, but alone, by themselves, I cannot even put them in my mouth. My mother passed away when I was three years old. I remember living in a two-story home. Dad was a certified public accountant (C...

12 likes 9 comments 9
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Fling

Submitted to Contest #298

Agnes went peacefully in her sleep. Her roommate at the Tate Senior Community Center, Rose called the front desk to inform the staff of Agnes’ passing. Even though Rose was not a close friend of Agnes since she had been admitted only three weeks before, the thought of having a deceased person in her room was distressing. “Rose, why don’t you go to breakfast in the cafeteria while we take care of Agnes.” Nurse Wendy suggested as she rested her hand on Rose’s arm.“Alright.” Rose closed her eyes and nodded compliantly. Rose made her way down ...

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Four O'clock Appointment

Submitted to Contest #297

Four O’Clock Appointment I had a four o’clock veterinarian appointment for my aging black Labrador Retriever Jordan. It was a ten-minute drive from our house in Chugiak to Eagle River. It was late summer which meant the Fireweed was going to seed, a clear sign winter was not far behind. There was plenty of room in our van for Jordan to lie on a blanket in the back.“How are you doing, girl?” I asked, but she did not respond, preferring to sleep instead. This would be a very difficult appointment. It was hard to believe she had been with ...

9 likes 11 comments 11
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The Gift of Flight

Submitted to Contest #296

When they found him shivering and huddled in a dark corner of St. Thomas’ Asylum for the Mentally Insane, Roddy McLain was perched in the only windowsill in the room. The window did not have a single shard of glass left in the rusted corroded window frame where he was perched with a loose-fitting beltless robe, staring at wide-eyed as the two policemen. They immediately grabbed him by the arms in case he decided to escape through the glassless window. “God Almighty, Roddy.” Dr. Tammell spoke as the police officers held him in place. Dr. Ta...

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The Second Funeral for Dominic Carlucci

Submitted to Contest #295

“Father forgive me, it’s been fifty some years since my last confession and these are my sins.” I began my absolution after the priest put the purple cloth below his chin and did the sign of the cross with a special oil. I knew that my chance of ascending to Heaven was a hundred to one shot according to any credible bookie I knew. Hey, but it was worth a shot. Father Bagetti sighed since he knew that my list of transgressions would be long and quite time consuming. There was no easy way out as far as he was concerned, and he was correct...

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