Micah Mortimer is the protagonist of Redhead by the Side of the Road. The story follows his personal growth as he reevaluates his life and his relationships with those around him. “[A] tall, bony man in his early forties with not-so-good posture” (4), Micah is a self-employed IT technician who also makes a small living managing his apartment complex. Micah lives by himself and enjoys the “perfection” of a “routine etched in stone” (3).

Micah also acts as if he knows better than others. When he sees a neighbor has put out recycling for garbage day, Micah expresses, “Some people; they just didn’t have a clue” (24). This tendency of Micah’s has led to a pattern of not reevaluating the things around him. Micah hasn’t changed in years, and he doesn’t acknowledge that other people change because of this personal stagnation. After updating Lorna on his life since college, he concedes that he sounds “sort of shiftless” (111). He’s never married and worked the same kind of job since college.

However, Micah begins to grow as a person through his breakup with Cass and his interactions with his ex-girlfriend from college. After Cass leaves him, Micah begins to recognize the emptiness of his own life.