Author Archives: Austin Gisriel

About Austin Gisriel

You know the guy that records a baseball game from the West Coast in July and doesn't watch it until January just to see baseball in the winter? That's me. I'm a writer always in search of a good story, baseball or otherwise.

“Unicorns and Monsters Are Upstairs”

Posted on May 8, 2013

“Unicorns and monsters are upstairs,” said the giant to Aiden. Aiden’s heart raced. His adventure was about to begin. Eager to give battle to any monsters that might be lurking on the second floor, Aiden quickly clambered up the huge … Continue reading →

Posted in Five Minute Fiction for Free | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

The Dumbest Show on Television

Posted on April 24, 2013

I’m not a big fan of reality television. (Of course, I’m not a big fan of reality, either.) Most of it is clearly scripted and not all that novel. Of all the brain-draining reality shows on television, none instantly lowers … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

He Ain’t Heavy, He’s An Idiot

Posted on April 8, 2013

Kyle straightened up, leaned on his hoe, and peered at the cloudless sky. “When in the hell are we gonna get any rain,” Kyle half-asked and half-exclaimed. “That’s why we don’t get any,” said his brother “Wrench” who was hoeing … Continue reading →

Posted in Five Minute Fiction for Free | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Familiar Faces in Florida

Posted on March 23, 2013

I have often said that baseball is a small world and this fact was illustrated again on our recent trip to Florida. We were seated in left field at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota enjoying the game, surrounded by a … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball in General | 8 Comments

Living Life at the 98th %tile

Posted on March 8, 2013

Harry Dombrowski was still sweating a bit from his half mile walk around the pond. He sat in his big chair which was so arranged that he could see the door to his apartment, the television, and out his large … Continue reading →

Posted in Five Minute Fiction for Free | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Spring Training Redux

Posted on February 23, 2013

As many of you know, Al Smith and I ventured to Florida for two weeks last year to take in Spring Training. Al enjoyed Florida so much that he and his wife Margo bought a house at The Villages and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

A Love Story

Posted on February 8, 2013

This story is fiction, of course, but I’d like to think that I have accurately portrayed the wonderful spirit of the inspiration whom some of you know. Gabriella forced a smile at her older son as he peered over her … Continue reading →

Posted in Five Minute Fiction for Free | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Happy Days Are Here Again, But Gone

Posted on January 22, 2013

Happy Days are here again! I mean the ones that aired from 1974-1984, and are now being rebroadcast weeknights on the Hallmark Channel. Regular reader Don Hoover sent me an e-mail about this, but I had already discovered that one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Another Girl From Ipanema

Posted on January 8, 2013

If you’re not familiar with “The Girl From Ipanema,” you should probably play the above video so that you’ll know why Chuck, the main character in this month’s tale, remembers what he does. If you do know the song, you … Continue reading →

Posted in Five Minute Fiction for Free | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

2012 in review

Posted on January 2, 2013

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog and since my blog is your blog, I thought you’d like to see this report. Don, thanks for all the comments. You wrote almost as much as … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments