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Ralph Aldrich

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2021

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71 Followers
17 Following

122 Stories

2791 karma pts

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A Cup of Kindness

Weekly Contest #179

“Happy New Year, my ass! I growl. I take another swig of M. D. 20/20. I’m little more than a shadow in the shadows watching the jubilant celebration in Time Square. People are singing and laughing everywhere. They hold their plastic cups up high, spilling beer and laughing, laughing, laughing!   “Go ahead and laugh, you bastards!” A young couple scowl as I take another hard pull on my bottle. I sink deeper into the shadows. I mutter, “Go ahead and laugh. Live your life as if there is no ...

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A Christmas Feast

Weekly Contest #178

It’s the week before Christmas, and people rush to do their last-minute shopping. The plaza’s décor is bright with festive colors.  The parking lot lamps are decorated to look like giant jingle bells and candy canes.  Christmas carols blare from the speakers mingling with the constant chatter of the shoppers.  Eight-year-old Cody misses Massachusetts at Christmas.  There it would be snowing, and you would have to wear a heavy winter coat and snow boots.  The temperature would be slightly above freezing, causing ...

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"How Do You Say-I love You"

Weekly Contest #177

My grandfather tells me the story of how he met my grandmother. He was a buyer for a perfume manufacturer in New York City. His job was to purchase bottles from various companies around the world. It had been ten years since World War II ended, and he was about to travel to Lohr am Main in Germany to purchase bottles for a new line of perfume.  But unfortunately, he does not speak German, and now his story begins…            After talking with my travel agent, I hun...

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The Christmas Gift

Weekly Contest #173

Charlie is a simple man. He never really had what you might call wants. He is most contented living a quiet life. Charle never sought out a wife, though he did date in his younger days. It’s just that when he thought of their happiness and compared it to his lifestyle well, he didn’t feel he should hold them back. It seemed that everything was going fine until this Christmas. For some reason, Charlie regretted not having children of his own. Of not having ever seen the smile on a young child’s face as they open ...

15 likes 2 comments 2
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Superstition

Weekly Contest #169

“Why in the hell did I ever move to Chicago?” I mutter to myself as I cross the open-air parking lot. I’ve worked late, and it’s about five minutes before midnight. It’s Friday the thirteenth in February, and I can barely keep my eyes open because the wind is sandblasting snow into my face at about forty miles an hour! On top of that, I parked my car at the end of the lot. All the other cars are gone. Only shallow squares in the snow mark the spot where they were parked. Clutching my top coat tightly at my throa...

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The Station Manager

Weekly Contest #168

I finish my breakfast and hurry down the hall to the front desk of my train station. It’s early yet, so not too many commuters have arrived. I’ll operate the ticket booth until Sue comes to take over. The early morning commuters generally have season passes, so they don’t have to purchase tickets. The shoppers who like to go into town for the day do. Or perhaps folks that are going to the theater or museums. It’s my job to see that everything runs smoothly and, if I can, on time. I am the station manager, a...

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The Setting Sun

Weekly Contest #167

I’m sitting in my rocking chair on the porch of my log cabin.  I’m taking in the view of a magnificent sunset over the forest and mountains of New Hampshire. Good God, it is so beautiful! The clouds are tinged with light orange and red as the rays of gold stream through the branches of the pines, dappling the front of my cabin. The birds are all roosting for the night, calling out to one another with one last song. Not far from my place is a babbling brook. Its soft murmur could easily put someone to sleep....

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Everybody Has a Secret

Weekly Contest #161

“Come on!” Gale whines. “Everybody’s got a secret that they’ve never told anyone before. What’s yours?” As if he’s disinterested, Brad mumbles, “Ain’t got one.” He then digs deep inside his ear, examines his finger, and flicks something into space. The Noahide couch squeaks loudly as Gale throws herself back, her arms folded across her chest. A few weeks ago, Brad and Gale met in Murphy’s bar. Brad played pool with friends while Gale enjoyed a girls’ night out. That’s when their glassy eyes met. Afte...

5 likes 2 comments 2
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Rain

Weekly Contest #160

To’Neinilii (also known as “Coyote”) is the spirit god of rain. Because he has this power, it has made him greedy, vain, cunning, and foolish, and he is sometimes quite the trickster. When dealing with the People, he feels his purpose is to test the borders of possibilities and order. Presently, he is high atop the mountain known as Badad Do’ag (known today as Mt. Lemmon), from which he is sending rain to the plains below. The Tohono O’odham live there and grow crops on the high desert plains.   The elders of t...

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Down on the Bayou

Weekly Contest #159

 Ty Flynn is the latest Hollywood action movie star. He is making money hand over fist by starring in a plethora of action films. He grew up on the streets of LA and has never had this much money in his entire life. Ty has been enjoying his fame by spending vast amounts on homes, cars, and motorcycles. There are also many rumors of the wild parties taking place on his private yacht.Ty is no stranger to the courts, where he is accused of misconduct and sexual harassment by young women, mainly set extras.  Ty...

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Cornelius Clemens

Weekly Contest #158

 Pearce, Arizona, is a small mining town just southeast of Tucson. The year is 1895, and it’s late August. The sun is blazing hot as a small traveling cabana rolls into town. The driver pulls to a stop at the far end of the main street and climbs down to look around. He’s a little disappointed because he had figured a gold mining town would look more prosperous. His name is Cornelius Clemens, and his trade is to sell snake oil to the unsuspecting. He is a flimflam artist, a con-man, and a swindler. Corneli...

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Once I was a Warrior

Weekly Contest #154

At one hundred and five, the apache native White Buffalo sits in the reclining chair, looking out the nursing home window. He can’t see much, just the asphalt parking lot and a few blurry trees beyond. His failing eyes see a dot moving about in the sky and assumes it’s an eagle. “Tell me, friend eagle, when will the Great Spirit come and take me to the land of peace and plenty? I have lived too long and serve no purpose. These people here treat me like a living artifact, a credit to the nursing home. Even though I ...

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Edit-Clear-Delete

Weekly Contest #153

Seventy-eight-year-old Oscar has become more convinced than ever that his wife Deloris is just one big nag. It seems that everything he does is met with criticism or correction. What happened to her? When they were first married, she was so polite. “Whatever you think is right, darling.” Or, “Thank you so much for doing that.” Now, it’s “What did you do that for! Are you stupid or something?” Or, “Why do you always have to leave your slippers by the coffee table. I’ve told you a thousand times it looks messy, an...

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The Precipice

Weekly Contest #152

“My name is Stanley Menard, and I want to tell you that I can see it now. I can really see it and the wonder of it all. But let me go back to how it all happened.”  I grew up in a typical sleepy little New England town in the Blackstone Valley. There were two forms of religious paths to follow, catholic or one of the protestant teachings. In our small town of Uxbridge, Catholicism was the most followed form. Add to that the fact that my mother was the daughter of Irish immigrants. You can understand th...

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"Can You Hear Me Alright?"

The robocall server is an I-15 Max server with an algorithm set to call as many people an hour as possible by dialing multiple phone numbers simultaneously. The I-15 Max uses an artificial voice to ask questions and can transfer contacts to live operators to complete the deal. This month a life insurance company has hired the I-15 server to entice elderly people to invest in their future. The insurance company has installed a demographic that includes dense populations of senior citizens—places like Green Valley or Sun Lakes, ...

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