Tag Archives: Bob Thurber

BOB THURBER: Bedtime Q&A

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, , , , ,

What if dreams are real and ordinary life is a series of nightmares?
What if the whole world and everybody in it is sleeping in your closet?
What if your bed is actually hiding underneath the monsters
and the crooked shadows keeping you awake aren’t from the coatrack at all?

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

BOB THURBER: Leaving on a High Note

Amusing, Submissions, ,

I wanted to say something noble and precise,
something magnanimous and final.

A parting shot bursting with clearheaded decisiveness,
a line she would record in her diary on a page all its own,
then days later tear out and burn, but never be able to forget.

But I had nothing.

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

BOB THURBER: My bookie’s response to hand delivering him an envelope stuffed with play money on April Fool’s Day

Amusing, Submissions

You owe me. You know exactly how much you owe me. Everybody here knows how long I’ve waited and how much of my money you still owe. So listen up. Everybody in here’s a witness. You now owe double. Okay. Happy now? Double the amount. Who’s laughing now, funny man?

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

BOB THURBER: Isolated For One Year

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Before the pandemic they’d been incompatible neighbors. Now they were cuddle-buddies. It made no sense. With practice they’d learned to ignore the unreality of their daily ritual. Only by embracing disbelief could one or the other advance like a sleepwalker across the hall. It felt so good to be held.

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

BOB THURBER: Living with Anxiety Disorder on a hot rainy day during a pandemic

Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, , , ,

Besides the hum of the air conditioner and the murmur of the rain and the sound of the TV there’s the constant noise in my head, a continuous commotion of charged thoughts unraveling mixed feelings and knotted memories, each a clump of snarled hair worked aggressively with a fine-toothed comb.

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

BOB THURBER: Impressing an Old Flame at our 25th High School reunion

Amusing, Submissions, Top Stories, , ,

She said, So what do you do?

I said, I’m a pickpocket.

Seriously, she said.

I handed back her phone and wristwatch.

That’s amazing, she said.

I produced her wedding band.

She studied it a moment.

Actually, I’m recently divorced, she said.

So I returned her credit cards and cash.

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

BOB THURBER: One Happy S.O.B. (Son Of a Blunder)

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , ,

My mother told me many times that I was a mistake, that if she hadn’t drank two Shirley Temples before dinner, and two glasses of wine with dinner, while on a date with the man who became my father, I’d still be dancing on a star, waiting to be born.

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

BOB THURBER: Grandparent Alienation is a Dirty Business, Especially During the Holidays

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , ,

Dear babies,

Listen. I know it hurts. I’m sorry it hurts.
But don’t stop stretching those muscles.
You’re doing great. You’re growing stronger.
Don’t ever believe you’re grasping at nothing.
The distance hasn’t widened between us. I’m still right here.
Some days I can almost feel your fingertips.

Keep reaching.

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

BOB THURBER: Wanted: Lazy Readers

Amusing, Submissions, , , , ,

Website featuring miniature stories currently seeking apathetic readers. No skills required. No pay, no benefits, no rewards. Lack of enjoyment contingent on how distracted and unmindful you might be. Readers who take their time and pay considerable attention need not apply. Same with those who may wish to contemplate allegory.

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

BOB THURBER: Late Awakening

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

A wide beam of sunlight slashed into the room. The window wasn’t where it should be and the doorway had been moved, and every piece of furniture had been transformed by age or substituted with an antique. Nothing was recognizable. Dust floated in the light. He breathed in the smell.

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.