The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines routine as “of a commonplace or repetitious character; of, relating to, or being in accordance with established procedure.” People create a routine without knowledge of doing so, this may because they wish to avoid their past experiences and memories. Some may want to avoid the fact that they are lonely. People may establish routines to keep their heads in a fantasy because they don’t want to reach reality. In the short stories, “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway, “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield, and the short-short story “Fingers” by Gary Gildner, characters follow routines in their daily lives for many reasons, whether it may be to forget something, or to avoid a fact of life. In “Fingers” by Gary Gildner, the main character Ronald Lacey, is written as a soldier returning from war. Returning from the Vietnam War has put Ronald in a blur. Every day he simply goes through the actions of life. Ronald’s routine involves wearing his old high-school baseball cap and going outside and shooting baskets all day. The fact that Ronald chooses to shoot baskets every day, and all day, symbolizes that he likes to have that control to bounce the basketball, shoot it, and know that he can do it again and again. He has the control of the ball. Finally this routine changes when his father questions him about what he’s going to do with the money he’s saved. With the money, Ronald buys a car; to add to his daily routine. His routine evolves to now driving the Hudson Hornet back and forth through town and only stopping for a root beer (Gildner 100-101). Ronald acts distracted in his daily activities, this is seen when his “new” car blows a flat tire. To solve this, Ronald locks the car, and puts his thumb in the air, to hitchhike to his next destination. When a flat tire happens, usually people spend the money to fix the tire because a tire only costs a small fraction compared to a whole car. His travel doesn’t end there; Ronald travels to the Atkins Museum in Kansas City and buys postcards of Houdon’s bust of Benjamin Franklin. Most people would probably have a conversation with someone they are sitting next to for 300 miles. However, on the long ride, he doesn’t have a conversation with a passenger sitting next to him named Franklin (Gildner 100-101). Ronald also never settles down. He’s constantly on the go to the next destination he comes across. The author doesn’t give readers the idea that Ronald has a game plan for his destinations. Readers can assume that Ronald was has no destination in mind. Ronald just travels aimlessly until he reaches a setting he wishes to see for a while. This may be a routine that he has learned to keep his mind straight. Coming back from the war, he may have flashbacks and bad memories of what happened at war. The short-short story concludes then Ronald arrives in a New York City hotel, only a stone’s throw away from Yankee Stadium. His only contact with his father, that the author informs us about, is sending a postcard to him saying