A truck driver with the I.Q. of a child drives his empty rig up anddown the Interstate as an homage to his dead mother (“Deadheading”),two convicts seek redemption by helping a group of horses gettheir freedom beyond the gates (“Penned”), a pawnshop owner sensesthe painful past of the many objects lining his shelves (“Trading Up”), aschizophrenic homeless man hits it big on a belligerent slot machine andthen disappears into the wilds along the Truckee River before he getsthe payout that would change his life forever (“Jackpot”). These linkedstories play out within sight of the Mother Lode hotel and casino, a glassmonolith that looms over downtown Reno and whose peeling façaderepresents the city’s dwindling past and uncertain future.
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A truck driver with the I.Q. of a child drives his empty rig up and
down the Interstate as an homage to his dead mother (“Deadheading”),
two convicts seek redemption by helping a group of horses get
their freedom beyond the gates (“Penned”), a pawnshop owner senses
the painful past of the many objects lining his shelves (“Trading Up”), a
schizophrenic homeless man hits it big on a belligerent slot machine and
then disappears into the wilds along the Truckee River before he gets
the payout that would change his life forever (“Jackpot”). These linked
stories play out within sight of the Mother Lode hotel and casino, a glass
monolith that looms over downtown Reno and whose peeling façade
represents the city’s dwindling past and uncertain future.
These linked short stories are connected by a single character...the city of Reno, NV. I hope you enjoy the dark, gritty, sometimes funny days and nights of the people who inhabit Grind's pages. Whether you live in Reno, have only visited or can only see it in your imagination, I hope Grind engages and entertains you.