Todd Crickmer

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2021

Stories (14)

14 Stories

316 karma pts

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“Fire and Life” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #258

I don’t ever do this—well, at least not since college. I usually adhere to the three-date rule. Which, more often than not, means that it never happens. But something that night just clicked. It was a usual Friday night at Illusions. I was hanging out with several friends from work, and he was leaning against the bar, flirting with some bimbo. Ten minutes later, I had dealt with the bimbo, and he was now flirting with me. My friends tried to pull me off him, but I knew he was something special. It was hard...

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“For the Love of the Game” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #256

I had worked at Rocco’s for almost four years. And had been the bartender for the last two when three of my co-workers and I went in together on a tiny three-bedroom rent house off Van Nuys Boulevard. Jennie and I chipped in a little extra so we could have a room to ourselves, leaving Nicholas and Samuel to share the third bedroom. Jennie, Nicholas and I weren’t natural baseball fans. But Samuel certainly was, and driven by his love of the game, over time, we had all become certifiable Dodger fans. Tickets were expensive,...

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“Some Place Just South of the Moon” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #237

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way,” Alan kept repeating as he gazed across Biscayne Bay from his twentieth-floor balcony. The shadows of the high-rise condominiums that line the Miami shoreline began stretching out across the bay as the sun slowly settled behind him. He took another sip of his gin and tonic and winced as it was much more bitter than he expected. The clouds out over the ocean were slowly turning from white to a soft tangerine as the last rays of the setting sun slowly settled on the opposite horizon. Alan’s l...

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“The Scar” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #230

The Scar I had known Melanie for six months before ever asking her out. We both work for the same company, but in different departments and even in different buildings on the corporate campus. We met at a company picnic last summer, and I think there was an immediate, shall I say, interest on both of our parts. She was a shy girl, but sweet in many ways and something about her had always intrigued me. Our first two dates had been rather generic – out to dinner, a movie, and even a little light necking. But never anyt...

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“What Did I Do?” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #216

Nadine glances over the wall of her cubicle at the clock on the far wall. The searing red digits of the clock read 6:45. Thirty more calls before quitting time, she instantly calculated. She had only worked at the call center for seven months. But measuring your business day in the number of calls handled quickly became second nature. Production was drilled into their heads from day one. Speed, accuracy, courtesy; speed, accuracy, courtesy – greet the caller within one ring, assess their need as quickly as possible,...

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“Two-Bits” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #204

Two-Bits The day I met the Churchills, I was curled up half asleep on a muddy riverbank along with four or five other strays. We had all been captured by a smelly man and tied to a scrawny sweetgum tree several yards from the Mississippi. He was selling us to emigrant families gathering in St. Louis, waiting for the spring thaw before heading out on the Western Trails. “Look, that man has those poor dogs tied up,” I heard a young girl say. “Why would he do that?” I picked up my head to see three kids standing at the top of ...

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“Best Friends, for a Life Cut Short” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #202

I think all of us can claim to have had at least one or two best friends in our lives. I’m no different. And I realize these close personal connections don’t always last forever. Still, it’s much harder when your friendship is cut short by the untimely passing of the other. Lester and I grew up in an upper-middle-class neighborhood west of Houston. We knew each other in elementary school, but we weren’t particularly friends at that point. More friendly acquaintances. By middle school, our friendship grew as we s...

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“Don't Shoot the Messenger” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #165

“Julia, hey, would you like to get a coffee?” Laura asked as she tried to hide the concern in her voice. Julia glanced around her cubicle and after a moment of thought, said, “Sure, let’s go. There’s nothing here that can’t wait.” Grabbing her purse from under her desk, Julia quickly stood. Then spinning to face her colleague and coworker of four years, immediately noticed the look of uneasiness on Laura’s face. As the two friends waited for the elevator, Julia turned to Laura and asked, “Is everything alright?” “Oh yeah,” Lau...

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“The Doldrums” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #160

July 19, year of our lord 1813, Ian scratches into what is left of his makeshift log. The eastern sun was already up at between forty and fifty degrees in the crystal clear blue sky of the Central Atlantic. It would be noon in less than three hours, their twenty-first day lost at sea. Glancing forward to the bow of the thirteen-foot skiff that had been their confinement. Ian only spoke English and had no idea how to communicate with the black slave – he simply referred to as John. Ian, desperate to escape the poverty and ...

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“That’s Not Fair …” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #158

“That’s not fair, Mr. Crickmer,” has over time become one of my fondest memories of raising my kids and being actively involved in the lives of my grandchildren. During the formative years of my kids’ lives, we were an all Scouting family. My wife was an active Girl Scout Leader, and I had been an above-and-beyond Boy Scout Leader. And together, we had many amazing adventures, creating a lifetime of cherished memories. However, becoming actively involved in my oldest granddaughter’s Scouting experience was an even greater hono...

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“Learning to Swim” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #120

Learning to Swim By Todd Crickmer Back in my day … though it is now hard to believe, racial segregation was not just a social norm, it was literally the law of the land. I was reminded of this shameful fact of American history while traveling a Kansas interstate, late one night while traveling from one business meeting, to another early the next morning. I was struggling to keep my mind active and facing an unpleasant appointment awaiting me the nex...

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“He's Not Dead Yet” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #119

He’s Not Dead Yet By Todd Crickmer “Oh My God,” Melissa said to herself, as she tapped her brakes for the umpteenth time. A sea of red lights illuminated the freeway in front of her. She had just read online that Austin’s traffic was supposed to be getting better. But no one would know that during the morning rush hour on MoPac at… “What time is it anyway,” she mumbled aloud? As she glanced at the clock on the dash, the green LED display glared 8:48. “Oh My God, I’m going to be late; I’m going to be late.” “I hate bei...

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“Someplace Just South of the Moon” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #117

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way,” Alan kept repeating to himself as he gazed out across Biscayne Bay from his twentieth-floor balcony. The shadows of the high-rise condominiums that line the Miami shoreline were beginning to stretch out across the bay as the sun slowly settled behind him. He took another sip of his gin and tonic and winced as it was much more bitter than he expected. The clouds out over the ocean were slowly turning from white to a soft tangerine as the last rays of the setting sun slowly settled on the opposit...

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“Vanishing Point” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #113

Vanishing Point By Todd Crickmer The century-old boards creaked and groaned under the weight of Zeke’s boots. The sun bore down on the weathered brim of his cowboy hat as he brought his hand to his face to shield it from the noonday sun. Peering through the grime-incrusted station windows, he could hear the old railroad station clock ticking, but even straining, he still couldn’t see it. Stepping back from the window, he wondered why the haunting sound was even audible, as the old station had probably been abandoned more than ...

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Author bio

A third-generation Californian by birth, with roots dating back to the California Gold Rush, I grew up in Texas with constant ties to both and a rich appreciation of my heritage and the History of the American West. As an adult, my career led me to over forty years of both Public and Corporate Accounting, which included sixteen years as a Contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense. However, I have always retained an intense interest in History and the exploration of the Great Outdoors. A former Scoutmaster with thirty plus years of involvement with both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, school volunteering, and youth group chaperoning, I developed a talent as a storyteller. My working with youth groups has included sponsoring church ski trips, hiking and rafting trips to Big Bend National Park, backpacking trips to New Mexico and Colorado, a high school band trip to Florida, and most recently chaperoning my granddaughter’s Girl Scout Troop on a trip to London and Paris. I am married with two grown children and six gifted and adventurous grandchildren. My wife and I volunteer weekly at our local library, and I’m currently an elected member of the Westbank Community Library Board of Trustees.