Joan McMenamin

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2021

Stories (6)

6 Stories

118 karma pts

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“Guru Gary” by Joan McMenamin

Submitted to Contest #104

“Are you coming tonight?”, the overly cheerful voice on the phone seemed to plead for confirmation immediately, to validate the reason for calling late in the afternoon after I have had a long day already. Exhaustion and a need to just pull back into my recliner and let the day pass overwhelmed every living, breathing, human inch of me. I promised I would go to the class with her, despite the fact that I wanted nothing to do with tarot readings or any other divination tools. It meant a lot to her in the newly found spiritualit...

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“The Fascinating Fracture” by Joan McMenamin

Submitted to Contest #103

Attraction takes a willingness to become alive in another’s presence and remain still in your own space. I wouldn’t say that it is stoicism on my part, to keep from tripping all over myself in those split moments, where I catch the glimmer of someone’s soul light. It is more in keeping with the fracture I let happen in my heart that allows that other person’s light in. That instantaneous rip across the veiled curtains, the set that my eyes hide behind, reveals all anyone needs to know; I am the fool to fall in love firs...

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“A Long Walk Home” by Joan McMenamin

Submitted to Contest #102

Human beings have two choices. The first is to expand their greatness beyond the galaxies and the far reaches of time itself; the second is to contract into spaces so small and so tightly, they have the snails and hermit crabs envy them. Most humans will fall somewhere in between those options and some never consider the choices to be options at all. It is a conundrum to be a human being. We are encouraged from very young ages to reach for the stars, the planets, the moon above our heads because that is where our ultimate goa...

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“Wolves and Rabbits” by Joan McMenamin

Submitted to Contest #101

Wincing at a thought wanting to come to her lips, the refrain was unbearable. What will make this diatribe stop? It does not appear that anyone wants to come to any closure and the whole gamut is predicated on one change in the document. Only one, not an entire paragraph or a couple of sentences, a notation concerning the right standard to reference for this new drawing that engineering seems to have created completely backward from their original version. Biting hard on her lip,...

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“The Women's Epicurean Wallflower Social” by Joan McMenamin

Submitted to Contest #100

Yes friends, I have found myself in that place, where there is no escape from the potluck and the store-bought stuffs, intended to encourage the bolstering of one’s ego and the demise of one’s hotplate. Here I am, a women’s social that is not the bar downtown, but has enough booze to require a liquor license surveillance on the residence that is hosting the event. Gals have gone so far as to purchase super special miniature quad Crock pots with bubbling Vienna sausages, beans with brown sugar, teriyaki dip, and some sort of brothy ...

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“Ocean City Sunrise” by Joan McMenamin

Submitted to Contest #99

Thin red lines began to form along the edge of the horizon, where the ocean and sky meet. A hint of brightening cerulean blue quietly spread above me. No sun yet, still too early, but it was coming. The water would hit the beach and spread with as much energy as it could muster, like lover’s hands stretching for the unseen sheets in their dreams, then pull back the sand, revealing the very nakedness of the shoreline exposed to the waiting light. I looked to the point where the sun was just starting to wink above the waves...

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Author bio

I have been an inspector for various industries for over twenty two years, writing process flows, reviewing engineering notes, and creating several training guides for novice quality assurance folks. I am a dedicated journal writer, branching out into my creative zone to offer insights into how similar we are as people, human as all get out, and that the only difference in any of us is the time of day we make contact with ourselves and others. Thank you for a quick minute to read my stories!