John Steckley

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

Stories (254)

254 Stories

5430 karma pts

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“Casino Connection” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #180

           I don’t tell many people this, but I work for a casino. You see, I don’t gamble. I don’t even buy lottery tickets or donate money to charities which offer an opportunity to get a car I could barely afford to have repaired. And I don’t understand why people gamble – the odds are against them – basic math. The whole thing seems somewhat Darwinian to me.           My job at the casino is to repair slot machines...

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“Resolutions Revolution” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #179

Resolution Revolution             I’ve never done this before, but it is probably about time. I have made my New Year’s resolutions today after some pretty deep thought that followed shortly after I received some no-nonsense advice from my siblings. Maybe it will be a good thing that I have them ready for when I am at the New Year’s Eve party. I have had some bad experiences in the past with what I have done at such parties. It would be good if resolutions made me a...

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“It's that Time of Year Again.” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #178

Two Young Men With Questions            Two young men, who look like and in fact are brothers, are sitting in a bar drinking beer the afternoon before Christmas day. They have been quiet for most of their time there, but it is now time for both of them to speak out about what was definitely on both of their minds. They had to make a decision.            “Well, it’s that time of year again. Are you ready for the ‘Big Ev...

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“Now I am the Only One” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #177

The Sadness            So my old buddy Frank has died. Now I am the only one. No one but me can speak our language anymore. It was great speaking and listening to him in the words of our people, even if it was only over the phone, as he lived so far away. I know of no other person left who has the language. All those wonderful stories will have no listeners that will understand them like my generation did when we were raised with them as they were told in the lan...

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“He Sits Watching” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #176

           A young boy who went by the name of Bill rather than his parents’ preferred ‘William’, was sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree in the middle of a wooded area watching without been seen. It is Friday afternoon on a warm summer’s day. The circus is in town. And the boy is there to watch the goings on in the field beside the woods. The tent closest to him is that of the magician. ‘What luck!’ He thinks. He has long been a fan of magic tricks. ...

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“While Raking Leaves” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #175

           I swear the trees grow more leaves every year, just to give me more raking work to do in November. I will never use leaf blowers to do the job, no matter how many leaves there are. Raking is a real man’s job. Besides, it’s easy for me to remember which end of the rake moves the leaves, and which I hold in my hand. If I operated a leaf blower, I might make it suck, quite literally. I’m no good with machines.       &nbs...

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“The Hippocampus” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #174

           When I was just beginning medical school, and I heard the term ‘hippocampus’ for the very first time, I joked with the guy beside me in the class, both of us feeling safe from scowls sitting at the back. I said, ‘The hippo campus must be a place at the university where people of exceptionally large size like to hang out and float in a very big pool naked.’ We both laughed, but then our very serious teacher gave us a stern stare that silenced the two of us for the res...

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“You're My Favourite Nephew” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #173

“You’re my favourite nephew.” “I’ll bet you say that to all of your nephews.” “You know that you are my only nephew.” “So it’s not a compliment then?” “It is. I would still say that if I had as many nephews as you have sisters and female cousins.             I can see that she is happy to see me, but there is more to her face than that happiness. As I look around the living room I feel that it is filled with emptiness. And that emptiness can be best seen in the cage w...

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“A Simple Yes Would Have Done I, and It Did” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #172

           Why did I not say ‘yes’ so long ago? Why did I say, ‘I don’t know’?  It immediately took negative effect, causing Henry to turn and walk quickly away, cursing under his breath the words still discernible, and slamming the door once he had left the room. If I had said ‘yes,’ my life would have been so different from the way that it is now.. Instead of my finding and losing a long knotty string of commitment fearing boyfriends as I did in my late teens and in my t...

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“Falling into an Old Habit” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #171

           I am very much a creature of habits, right down to the smallest detail. My sister says that it is because I live alone and have done so for a very long time. Too much time in her thinking. That could be true. Take this early evening for example. It is Friday night, so I walked from home (I could drive but that is not part of the habit) to Ye Olde Inn for dinner and a few beers. It is what I often did as a teenager, the beer being added once I turned became ...

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“So, I've got this plan” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #170

           I’ve got a plan. I’ve been very frustrated writing short stories over the six years since my retirement. Every week I responded to one of the prompts, thought that what I’d done was good, but end up far from winning. I’ve had a solid think about this recently, and I came up with an idea that will improve my chances, make my stories more acceptable to the judging audience.             I wrote several suc...

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“The Shadow Knows” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #169

           I will be so glad when the guys at the dealer finally finish repairing my car  I don’t mind going home from the bar late at night when I can drive home. All I have to do is try to drive like I haven’t been drinking. But walking these streets late at night is kind of creepy. I should have sacrificed my pride and asked someone to drive me home, but I really didn’t want any of the jokers I hang around with make some comment of my being afraid to walk home in the da...

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“Passengers Will Please Refrain” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #168

           That song kept going through my mind, over and over again, “Passengers will please refrain from flushing toilets while the train is in the station.” I really had to go, and the train was just pulling into the station, and I would have to wait too long before I could go, do my bladderly duty and flush the toilet. If I refrained from passing water then it would unquestionably pass through both underwear and pants. I definitely could not let that happen. The meeting I w...

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“Here's What I See” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #167

           Two men are occupying a rather sterile looking room with white-painted walls and similarly-coloured chairs and what looks like a very powerful, piercing light on an articulated metal stand. One man is standing, wearing a light blue shirt, pants and socks. He has a look of intense curiosity on his face.  At his feet is a webbed mask.  The other man is sitting.  He is dressed very differently, wearing an expensive suit and a costly silk tie to match. The...

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“Back in the Saddle Again” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #166

           Like the old Gene Autry song says, “I’m back in the saddle again.” I have been thinking that I retired too young, just because I started my career at a relatively early age, so I had a full pension before regular retirement age.  I am aware that I have been driving my wife crazy by my continual presence in the house, getting in her way. I know that she has been too nice to say anything, but I can see it in her eyes. Teaching was pretty much my entire life, ...

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Author bio

I am a retired college professor who researches and writes about Indigenous languages and cultures. My specialty is the Wendat/Wyandot language.