Rudy Greene

“The Ring” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #265

That part of my life was gone. I never thought I could relive it. Too many years had passed. I was a different person. Yet a letter from Florence opened the possibility. During the war I was stationed in Italy and participated in the invasion of Sicily. I never thought I’d survive. My mother had given me her wedding ring as a lucky charm before I left Halifax. I wore it on a chain around my neck. It reminded me of my parents’ love, and it represented the love I would have with someone special when I returned. Its presence kept me grounded, c...

4 likes 7 comments 7

Read story

“Riding Shotgun” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #264

I’ve spent my life riding shotgun for my more popular friends. I was their plus one and sometimes their court jester or fool. They’d take me along for support or comic relief. At times I felt like a buffer in potentially tense situations. Friends invited me to their family dinners when there was potentially combustible situations. You would think that I’d grow up to be a diplomat, politician or hostage negotiator. Instead, I became a character actor, a co-star, a Hollywood plus one. My marriage followed the same trend. I found it strange tha...

13 likes 5 comments 5

Read story

“The Voice of Hate” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #263

This story contains some profanity and bigotryIt’s going to be the fight of the century. That f***in’ kike doesn’t have a chance. They set up a ring on the south side of Chicago. The money is pouring in even though it’s not, what’s the word, sanctioned. Those Jews think the war just ended. Well, I’ve got a message for them. It’s just starting here in the states. We’ll finish what Hitler started. To think my dad lost his life fighting to liberate the camps in Germany. I would have been alongside him if my birthday had been just a few months e...

8 likes 3 comments 3

Read story

“summer love” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #262

Could she be waving at me? There’s no way! She’s out of my league. Or so I thought. I was sitting on my orange ground sheet on the very green grass in a park in Oxford, England. It was July and I was on my first trip to Europe. To my surprise, I found a Jewish delicatessen near the college. It had the best pastrami I had tasted in years, and I decided to purchase a sandwich and picnic at the park, Munching on the gargantuan sandwich and engrossed in a Dickens novel, I only looked up when the buzz of touring students caught my attention. As t...

6 likes 9 comments 9

Read story

“The Pacemaker Blues” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #261

I would rather die than have a pacemaker! That was my reaction when it became a possibility. Forty years as a marathoner and triathlete and I could possibly have a heart issue?  No way! I had no family history, ate well and exercised more than most people on earth. The possibility just did not compute.  It all started during my Sunday mile swim when I couldn’t catch my breath after two laps and almost passed out on the fourth. It had to be a fluke. Maybe I was overtraining. In any case, I slowed my pace and finished the mile. ...

7 likes 5 comments 5

Read story

“A Twist of Destiny” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #260

The moment she popped out of her mother’s womb, she was destined to be a superstar. Or so the family thought. Her father was an accomplished concert pianist, and her mother sang opera at the Met. Her grandfather had been the composer for the stars and her grandmother, an accomplished actress. How could she not make her mark in the arts. Even her name Star screamed success. She was an adorable baby with blonde hair and blue eyes. As she grew her beauty only increased. She reached puberty earlier than most of her peers and was a fashion model ...

5 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“Love Thy Neighbor” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #259

Jim and Judy seemed like the ideal couple. They expressed their love for each other daily. They had been married for twenty years and had two kids and loved their Jobs. Judy was a water lawyer who worked for the government and Jim was an architect. Jim’s childhood friends lived next store. Keri and Steve had been Jim’s best friends since seventh grade. When Steve became romantically involved with Keri, Jim would almost always accompany them on their dates. Neither Keri nor Jim seemed to mind. In fact, they encouraged it. Once Judy came on th...

5 likes 3 comments 3

Read story

“So, what if...” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #258

The PhotographThe photograph of the American president sleeping with the Russian president’s sixteen-year-old daughter had long been a chess piece held by the Russian leader. Every time, the American president threatened to do anything that went against Russian interests, the threat of its release stopped him cold. Slowly but surely, the U.S. was becoming a satellite of Russia. The Ukrainian internment camps were just the tip of the iceberg. Book banning and the rise of the Russian Orthodox church were the most recent evidence of Russian inf...

3 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“An Old Dog's Lament” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #243

Why do they talk baby talk to me? Okay, I could understand it when I was a puppy but I’m 12. That’s 84 in their years. My people talk normally to each other, but their voices change, and their vocabulary becomes infantile when they address me. It’s does little Lila want a treat? Or can you give me your paw, sit or speak? Of course, I can sit but I’m an old lady. It takes time. I can speak but in a foreign language. Pici and Kaya, my buddies understand me, but the only time my people do is when I try to get their attention. It’s time related....

7 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“Impressionistic Love” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #242

It was 1974 and I was on my first tour of Europe. My student rail pass allowed me to travel cheaply through Western Europe. My backpack and sleeping bag were my only luggage and slept most nights in hostels or public parks. I was one of hundreds of international students travelling the continent that summer. We all had our stories. Most travelers were in pairs, I was solo. My best friend, Bob, had bailed at the last minute. I figured travelling alone would force me to break out of my shyness. So far, it hadn’t worked. I was f****** lone...

12 likes 6 comments 6

Read story

“addiction” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #230

New year’s resolutions December 31 Find a new home (living in the back of my car doesn’t cut it) Stop taking drugs (I can’t afford them anymore) Find a new dealer (oops, I think I just contradicted myself) Maybe change my drug of choice (Fentanyl is just too damned expensive and dangerous) Make up with Zelda (but she won’t take me back unless I stop using) See more of my kids (but first Zelda has to reverse the court order) Get out of New York city (but I’ll need new dealers and never see my kids) Stop contradicting myself (I’ll be clearer w...

11 likes 7 comments 7

Read story

“Magic Mystery Tour Bakery” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #228

The sign said Magic Mystery Tour Bakery. Jed and Mary had heard about it from some college friends. For two weeks that was all they could talk about.“You’ve got to try their baked goods, man. They were truly magical. After a few bites, I felt I was on an acid trip, just like my folks described. The host insisted their goods were drug free. There were a few cops in the shop buying muffins so I gotta believe, they’re on the up and up. Try their Magic Mystery chocolate cake. It will transport you to a different world.” Jake was rapturous in his...

8 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“Brrrr” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #227

I hated Toronto winters. They dragged on and on. I missed the sun and its warmth. It wasn’t just cold. The wind and dampness made it bone chilling. As runners, Peter and I would slosh and slide through the slush and snow on the sidewalks. My feet would burn until they became numb. My shoes and socks would retain their wetness and add to my misery. I could not find gloves warm enough to prevent my fingers from turning purple and feeling like they were on fire. It wasn’t until much later that I discovered I had Raynaud’s phenomenon. My little ...

10 likes 2 comments 2

Read story

“The Chocolate Temptation” by Rudy Greene

I have always been a chocoholic. When I was born my dad gave out chocolate cigars. It may have been a harbinger of things to come. As long as I can remember, there was a chocolate dish served with every meal. Chocolate cake, pudding, pie, all were sweet desserts served with every meal during family dinners. Then there were the appropriately named chocolate kisses my uncle Joe brought me every few weeks. I savored them as I would savor kisses from my wife. They flooded me with oxytocin and brought me to a level of ecstasy that I would only ex...

2 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“Twin or Doppelganger?” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #225

Layla was awfully affectionate when I returned from work today. She had that postcoital glow about her. When I asked her what was up, she looked at me with those moony eyes, I only see after intense love making. She seemed to think that I should know the source of her bliss. Yet I was clueless, so I had to ask: “What’s going on? You seem to be on cloud nine.” Layla gave me a warm smile and answered: “You know.” I shrugged my shoulders and answered: “No I really don’t.” “That was some gift you gave me at lunch.” Layla embraced me and kissed m...

12 likes 2 comments 2

Read story