Tom McGuire

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2020

Stories (3)

3 Stories

39 karma pts

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“GRAVEYARD SHIFT” by Tom McGuire

Submitted to Contest #65

MY best friend in school was Darrell Banks. I nicknamed him “Spud” because his favorite thing to eat was French Fries, or some variation on the theme ­­– home fries, hash browns, chips, and hush puppies, but, curiously, he detested potato salad. Spud and I ran wild as kids and got into scrapes and minor trouble, but mostly we were “good boys” growing up in small town America, playing sports, mowing lawns, and sneaking about. When we were fifteen, we’d slip out under cover of darkness and stealthily roam the desolate streets like in some...

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“Proof Through the Night” by Tom McGuire

Submitted to Contest #60

STELLA Aldrin gasped for breath. Tedd Armstrong, her co-pilot and lover, checked her pulse and then opened the oxygen valve to max capacity. Their Scrambler, Rocinante they called it, was nearly depleted of its oxygen supply, and time was running out. With a second wind, Stella mustered the energy to check the Holographic Pinpointer. “Tedd,” she said excitedly, “Look! An object buried near Luna Sector II!”  Their awareness perked and they high fived one another, though they continued to be mystified by the incomplete message inscr...

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“I Drove A Hearse To Mississippi” by Tom McGuire

I drove a hearse to Mississippi, a year ago when I was just 16. I really did. Well, make that in the company of my Dad, who enlisted my help. I had just gotten my license two months before that and barely even knew how to drive. But Dad, he must have trusted me, or had something else in mind. My Dad’s brother, who ran the funeral parlor in our small town, was on a bender and couldn’t make the drive down to Mississippi to pick up the corpse of some old-timer who was to be buried in the county cemetery. It wasn’t the first time my uncl...

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Author bio

I am recently retired from a long career at U.C. Berkeley where I served as Program Director of certificate programs in the Extension Department. Since my retirement, my wife and I have been traveling around the country visiting national parks and many old friends we hadn’t see in years. I am a writer with several non-fiction publications to my credit, and amateur photographer, with voluminous content on Facebook and Instagram. I also publish several blogs, including my top three: a hiking blog going back fifteen years (@ gambolinman.blogspot.com); a birding blog begun eight years ago (@ berkeleybackyardbirdblog.blogspot.com); and a blog begun this year on inventive word games and puzzles of my own creation (@ brainwrack.blogspot.com). Currently, as our road trip has temporarily ground to a halt, my wife and I are living in Santa Fe, New Mexico where we are both working on writing short stories.