In 'Holler', when his wife throws him out, Tom shacks up with the family of a casual girlfriend. They leave it to him to bathe, shave and keep a jug of wine within a straw's reach of their disabled patriarch.

In 'I Start Over', retirement has not been living up to Big Bernie's expectations-not the expectations the television advertisements are peddling anyway. He treats himself to a souped-up 1959 Chevrolet, and this indulgence might just be what he needs to start over.

Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Knockemstiff.

Donald Ray Pollock