Beard

This story is kind of an existential bummer. It talks about the squirrel problem at the house numerous times, the cleaning of the dogs blankets, and impending romantic doom, and this is all before the mass murder at work. It shows her life being mundane and mildly depressing. The emotional pressure's of her dog's soon-to-come death, and the divorce makes this woman very volatile and exciting as a main character, but I would much rather a talking bear, or something that doesn't reflect the stagnant nature of everyday life. Jo Ann "calling in tired" to work is probably the most interesting part of this story because usually adhering to adult responsibility, or work in this case, is commended and expected of most adults. Here Jo Ann goes against the usual grind to call in, not because of any serious illness of problem, but just strictly because she felt like it. Now I don't know about anyone else, but I really get off when people do exactly what they want, and end up in a better situation after-the-fact, than the people who went against their instinct towards something they were unsure of. In this case she is alive now, because she didn't go to work. She is devastated at the end and must go on while her coworkers cannot. Bummer, not bad though, like Shiloh or Brian's Song.