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Stephen Schester

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2025

Stories (7)

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7 Stories

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Birthday By The Bay

Stephen Schester

Submitted to Contest #333

Fifty…half a century…the age that a man has probably seen it all, done it all, lived through it all – an age of accomplishment. Their was a time in my life when I wondered if I would make it to fifty or even wanted to live that long. I pondered that question and this nice even number, sitting on a wooden chair overlooking the bay, with a small glass of smoked maple bourbon, a Churchill cigar, and the sun setting on this seventy-degree weather day, and a rolodex of memories. This day was the day I turned fifty. For whatever reason, the good L...

8 likes

All The Seats Taken

Stephen Schester

Submitted to Contest #328

November 11th was originally picked as Armistice Day, a holiday to commemorate the end of the First World War. In 1954, it was changed to Veteran’s Day. A day to give thanks to those who donned the uniform and served their country. For Tim Holland, it’s a reminder he no longer has a father. Tim wasn’t close with David Holland, in fact, had borderline disdain for him, because according to his mother, "he was a dirt bag who couldn’t keep his dick in his Levis.” After his parents divorced, his father went full speed ahead with his military care...

7 likes

The Reaper Always Collects

Stephen Schester

Submitted to Contest #326

Being a former city slicker government employee, Stephen had moved to the town of Manistee, off of Lake Michigan in the Manistee National Forest. He bought himself a bachelor pad away from everything and became a hermit who just wanted to be alone. On this particular night, he was finishing the dishes, while watching episodes of the sketch comedy of Chappelle Show on YouTube. Laughing helped ease the pain of sticking his hands in dirty water, back and forth, then drying the dishes. Then a clear resonant noise of a rhythmic tone came from ...

4 likes

Beastly Neighbor

Stephen Schester

I was back where it all started, my childhood home in Michigan. The house was passed onto me after the death of my mother. I was preparing it for sale because I had no reason to keep it. I lived in Tampa and wanted nothing to do with the old house and country living. I was looking at a six-figure payday, according to my childhood friend, and now realtor, Randy. One night on the deck grilling steaks, under stars shining like a million flashlights, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed two large circular sources of light, out in the back fort...

0 likes

No More Uncle Sam

Stephen Schester

Submitted to Contest #324

“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Master Sergeant David D. Hommer, Retired. Sir, the floor is all yours.” Those were the words from my Masters of Ceremony, giving me the podium, to present my retirement speech, and the last time I felt relevant with in life. That was one year ago today. I gave twenty-three years to the United States Air Force, and they were the best years of my life. The Air Force was my life, and nothing came close. I was even married, but that became a casualty of the Air Force. She couldn’t take being number two any...

10 likes

Along Comes Avery

Stephen Schester

Submitted to Contest #323

I had been retired from the Air Force going on four years now and did not expect to find my life where it was currently at – still unemployed. On the other hand, since I retired, and had lot of free time, I ramped up my physical fitness. It became a religion to me. A ritual that I rarely broke. Monday through Friday, I was in the gym clanging and banging iron, then on the weekends, on the treadmill. I thought about the gym even when I wasn’t there. I rehearsed sets, lifting techniques, contemplated new exercises; I was a man obsessed with fi...

5 likes

Around the World

Stephen Schester

Submitted to Contest #322

I was clickity clacking away on my keyboard, purging ideas out of me at a rapid pace, when my wife who was rummaging through boxes in the closet yells out, “Oh my God!” I got off my ergonomically correct chair and went to find out what caused that reaction from her.“How old were you in this?” holding up a photo directly at me.I grabbed the piece of nostalgia and studied it like a map.“I think fourteen. This was eighth grade.” “You were so skinny. What’s all that writing on the ball? Who took the picture?“My dad took it. I won this ball in a ...

8 likes