Carl never thought much of the girl who lived in the dumpy house next door until she invited him over.
(RichardDaub.com, March 2024)
Cruising the parking lot of the “Spit” nightclub, Carl experiences some unfortunate luck with his aging Volkswagen Rabbit.
(RichardDaub.com, February 2024)
Carl receives an unexpected visit from a former crush that again leads to heartache. Continuation of “Sweet Little Sixteen”.
(RichardDaub.com, February 2024)
Driving cross-country to Seattle to begin a new life, a young man encounters a series of waitresses who resemble past loves.
(RichardDaub.com, February 2024)
A divorced father’s attempt at a family vacation unravels at the Smithsonian, further straining the relationship with his kids.
(RichardDaub.com, January 2024)
The kids meet their new step-siblings after their father’s sudden marriage to a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.
(RichardDaub.com, January 2024)
A father’s weekly visitation with his children reveals deep resentment for his ex-wife and disillusionment with fatherhood.
(RichardDaub.com, January 2024)
42nd Street in 1980s Times Square was where 16-year-old Carl had heard was the only place you could get a realistic fake ID.
(RichardDaub.com, December 2023)
Carl thought for sure she would go out with him upon slipping a note and New Kids on the Block concert tickets into her locker.
(RichardDaub.com, December 2023)
A temp assignment at a fourth-generation, family-owned business that exemplifies the “Shirtsleeves-to-shirtsleeves” adage.
(RichardDaub.com, November 2023)
Two notes on pink loose-leaf paper and an awkward phone call. A ninth-grade relationship quickly sours.
(RichardDaub.com, November 2023)
A high school kid gets a stark glimpse of adulthood and the hazards of following in the footsteps of flawed role models.
(RichardDaub.com, November 2023)
Exploring the corridors of the 19-year-old mind while trapped in the confines of suburbia. LSD, bowling, tacos, and trains.
(RichardDaub.com, November 2023)
The new kid accepts the challenge of a bully at the Genovese drug store, only to be thwarted by an overzealous security guard.
(RichardDaub.com, November 2023)
1989, Rolling Stones at Shea Stadium, a pilgrimage for two Long Island 16-year-olds who find more than expected in Flushing.
(RichardDaub.com, October 2023)
A boring night in 1990 Brooklyn culminates in a Brighton Beach lifeguard chair. Conclusion of “Coward of Kings County”.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
Carl is called a coward by the girl he likes when the Avenue T Furies show up. A continuation of “Sausage and Peppers”.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
Brooklyn 1990, pagers, pay phones, 40 oz malt liquor, bodega nickel bags, spin the bottle, a good night gets messy.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
They knew he wasn’t a great father, but at a rest stop on the Jersey Turnpike, they find out what an asshole he really is.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
A thirteen-year-old’s perception of his father is challenged during an encounter with a potential molester at the supermarket.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
Massapequa 1968, a husband mansplains about insurance, advertising, and culture in front the “Big Chief Lewis” statue.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
Carl’s escape from suburban hell is delayed by tragedy, forcing him to face his past before hitting the open road.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
On the night of the junior prom, Carl has an unexpected encounter with the woman who’d dominated his adolescent fantasies.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
This Massapequa residence had a history of violence long before the Long Island Lolita showed up.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
After an evening of drunken humiliation at a high school party and at home, Carl pushes himself out of bed to face the music.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
1989, pre-Internet desolation in the suburbs, teenage lust, self-destruction, a desperate longing to escape.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
A fifth-grade boy is a fish out of water at his new school and is greeted with swift kicks to the behind. But he’s not alone.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
Here’s the story of a broken family… The Brady Bunch, they were not… Nothing would ever be the same.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
Long before Napster, ripping off the Columbia House “12 CDs for a Penny” Club was the old school way to steal music.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
Is it too late for love when the boring girl who had a crush on young Carl has a Sandra Dee-like transformation?
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
An awkward encounter with professional wrestler Bret “The Hitman” Hart in a quiet diner near the Nassau Coliseum.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
In the absence of his own father, a teenager is fortunate to have a father-figure with him during the purchase of his first car.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2023)
A third-grade boy discovers his silent classmate Lisa’s secret and reveals to her his own.
(On the Run, May 2023)
During a vacation at a dude ranch, a teenager confronts his father in the saloon.
(The Dillydoun Review, April 2022)
An alcoholic’s struggle with sobriety is tested during his son’s birthday party, exposing the depth of his despair.
(RichardDaub.com, December 2021)
The early 1980s were a very different time for elementary school kids, who had the freedom to go almost anywhere unsupervised.
(RichardDaub.com, November 2021)
During a summer block party, young Angus unknowingly stumbles upon his mother’s secret.
(RichardDaub.com, October 2021)
Four-year-old Angus didn’t want to have a birthday party, but his mother insisted, prompting him to escape.
(RichardDaub.com, October 2021)
A troubled young boy executes an elaborate revenge on a neighbor with a can of Mello Yello soda.
(RichardDaub.com, October 2021)
A man treats his family to some dying Americana at the last freestanding Howard Johnson’s restaurant in the world.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2021)
A glimpse at the people on line at the supermarket customer service desk waiting to check their lottery tickets for winners.
(RichardDaub.com, August 2021)
A glimpse at America’s all-you-can-eat buffet culture through the eyes of a family that can’t get enough.
(RichardDaub.com, July 2021)
A newlywed’s unsettling encounter with his wife’s inappropriate uncle during a casual family outing on the Santa Monica Pier.
(RichardDaub.com, June 2021)
A trio of suburban teenage girls navigate awkward conversations about identity, relationships, and growing up.
(RichardDaub.com, May 2021)
A man grapples with fear and helplessness while awaiting news about his wife’s life-or-death surgery.
(RichardDaub.com, May 2021)
What was supposed to be a celebratory graduation lunch morphs into the end of a relationship between father and son.
(RichardDaub.com, April 2021)
Comedian and actor Jerry Seinfeld visits his old high school but receives a cool reception when he refuses to tell any jokes.
(RichardDaub.com, March 2021)
A young woman defies family expectations and embarks on a transformative journey to claim her own identity.
(RichardDaub.com, March 2021)
Flash fiction inspired by Massapequa’s Candy Darling, victim of an attempted lynching in high school, but she didn’t hide.
(RichardDaub.com, March 2021)
A teenager armed with leather and bravado crashes the Sweet Sixteen party of the girl who chose another over him.
(RichardDaub.com, March 2021)
Finally getting into the bars where you grew up: the druggie bar, the cop bar, and a gig by the Stray Cats at the biker bar.
(RichardDaub.com, February 2021)
A teenager’s quest to see a 1988 Pink Floyd concert unravels into a night of strained relationships.
(RichardDaub.com, February 2021)
A simple lunchtime dare spirals into a confrontation that forces a ninth-grader to consider the cost of loyalty to a friend.
(RichardDaub.com, January 2021)
Adolescent longing, peer pressure, and disillusionment finds Carl captivated and confounded by his sexy English teacher.
(RichardDaub.com, January 2021)
The new kid with the lame bike and the extreme lengths he goes to find acceptance.
(New Pop Lit, December 2020)
A teenager attempts to confront a racist relative with some help from RUN DMC.
(Maudlin House, October 2020)
A child’s chilling act stuns a summer backyard party and exiles him to the world of grownup consequences.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2020)
A family vacation at an idyllic lake reveals unsettling undercurrents of division and discomfort rippling beneath the surface.
(RichardDaub.com, September 2020)
The relentless gaze of a society glued to its screens through decades of turmoil, longing for comfort, certainty, and a savior.
(RichardDaub.com, March 2020)
At a pizza place in the city, a clash of good intentions and personal pride spirals into a cutting rebuke.
(Unpublished, 2001)
An aging alcoholic finds quiet purpose and fleeting solace in his daily rituals.
(Unpublished, 1998)
Richard Daub 