Ron Smith

“A Wish for Poor Samuel” by Ron Smith

Hands in his pockets, and slumping as he walked, a gloomy Samuel trudged slowly home, to his rickety old cabin in the woods. If the Fates had handed anyone the short end of the stick, it was Samuel. Recent times had been difficult for this youngster from Missouri.  His elder brother had been killed when the Confederates took Sedalia. Then a flood had come two years back, killing his parents and destroying their little farm house that stood at the bend of the Elkhorn River near Steep Hollow. At this point, Samuel was al...

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“Remembering the Crab Creek Bridge” by Ron Smith

Submitted to Contest #174

The elderly gentleman fiddled with the buttons on his sweater as his daughter drove him across town.          “Quit fussing with it, Dad. You look fine.”         “These lousy buttons are all crossed up. Why didn’t you let me wear the one with the zipper?”         “Because you spilled your breakfast on it, remember?”         Daisy knew that her octoge...

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“The Wrong Ticket” by Ron Smith

The sun had just set when traveler Raymond Morris and three other senior executives from Wrigley’s Hydraulic Supplies boarded the train. They were ushered to their cabin by an older steward dressed in a formal black uniform with the “Green Gateway” logo emblazoned on the breast pocket.           “I hope you will find the accommodations satisfactory for your trip, gentlemen. These are the very best the line has to offer. My name is Gabriel. I will be providing service to yo...

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“Henry's Terrible Day” by Ron Smith

Well, our St. Louis Cardinals lost the World Series today, falling to the Tigers in Detroit in the sixth game. Unquestionably, this was all my fault. Oh, not because I play for the Cardinals. Shoot, the only team jersey I’ve ever had on is one I bought at a gift shop downtown. But I caused them to lose the game just as if I, myself, had let an easy grounder slip under my glove with a runner on third base. Let me lay it out for you.           Friday night – 11 PM....

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“Dinner at Carelli's” by Ron Smith

Submitted to Contest #162

It was a Sunday evening, and Noah Barton was shaking like a leaf. He was wondering how he could sound confident on a phone call while his voice had such a quiver to it. But after all these years, he had finally decided he would call up Betsy Davis and ask her for a date. He had had a crush…no…he had ‘loved’ the cute little blonde since sixth grade. And now, it was the spring semester of their senior year. Realizing that time for a high school courtship was running very short, he had mustered enough courage to call an...

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“Cats and Snow” by Ron Smith

Submitted to Contest #161

It was an overcast snowy Tuesday morning when Calvin slipped into his old work boots to go out to the barn and check on the cat and her new kittens. With coffee in one hand and an open carton of Half-and-Half in the other, he wandered across the yard, muttering obscenities about the chilly weather. Mother Nature had quietly dropped a six-inch blanket of snow overnight, a much-needed round of precipitation, and beautiful scenery for those people who may have been in a decent mood and had no place to go. Calvin was not one of th...

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