On the east side of a small Kentucky town called Screamin' Holler, between the railroad tracks and Route 7, there's a trailer park called Pine View Heights. It's a quiet little community where you can leave your door unlocked at night and walk down to the County Seat Grocery for a can of snuff, and RC Cola, and a couple of lottery tickets.
Neighbors watch out for each other.
And elderly people watch your every move, and talk about you at the Post Office. Antsy and Flem are third cousins twice removed, and grew up four trailers down from each other in Pine View Heights. We're more like second cousins, really. When McClain was 14 years old, his father was killed in a bizarre accident involving a Ronco Buttoneer. This may explain Antsy's unique outlook on life, as well as his reluctance to enter fabric stores.