Little Neck Resident's Short Story Could Win Big Acclaim

If asked to condense your life into a 150-word blurb, could you do it? It sounds like a tall order, but there's an incentive: you could potentially win $25,000.

It was that second bit that convinced Little Neck resident Elizabeth Hughes to pen a short synopsis on the life of her husband, John, and enter it into the Reader's Digest "Your Story" contest. Readers have the chance to vote on the stories of their choice, and winning submissions will be published in an upcoming issue of the magazine.

Hughes, who will celebrate his 76th birthday on Oct. 30, said his wife is known among family and friends for her love of writing – particularly about people. She considers his life fascinating, he said, though Hughes himself said he's not sure why. 

"She just listens to me talk, and remembers all of it," he said.

Though it's about John, Elizabeth wrote the story in the first person, starting with his early life in the Bronx and spanning all the way through their 53 years of marriage. Despite Hughes' nonchalance toward the tale of his life, he does harbor some hope that others will find it as interesting as his wife does.

"I said 'Boy, wouldn’t that be nice if we won it?'" he told his wife. "'So write a nice essay.'"

Below is Hughes' entry, called "Sleepy." Vote for it here.

I began my life in the Bronx on October 30, 1935. My mother’s love became my stepdad, and with little, we moved to Rockaway. It was the war years so apartments, food and clothes were scarce. “MO” hired me to deliver papers from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. The money helped us survive. Sports made life good. Sometimes I fell asleep waiting to play so the guys called me “Sleepy”. High school was over the day I turned sixteen. I served in the Army in Korea. In the A & P, I worked my way up to Manager. I was Manager of the Year eight times. I was let go after 26 years. I became a Gristedes’ Manager for seventeen years. One year, I made $1,000,000 bottom line for Gristedes, but again, I was let go. I am married 53 years, and I have five grown children and many grandchildren. God has been good to me. That little guy, “Sleepy” has weathered many storms. I never missed a day’s work. I was held up and beat up, but I never backed down. I have survived!