Ben Batchelder

“All you have to do is come down to New York City for an on-air interview.”

“Christmas?” It was the first of December – Christmas was three weeks away.

Annie barely gave it a moment’s further thought. “I thank you kindly, but I think I’ll just keep going on my way,” she said. “I need to put some miles between me and winter.”

If and when she arrives here, she will find Charles B. Marsh, prosecuting officer of he ASPCA, waiting to see her. [p.88]

I drove more than ten thousand miles while researching this book. Navigating mostly with 1950s vintage gas station maps, I traveled through small towns and down the sorts of back roads the average contemporary traveler never sees. I avoided the interstates. Using old black-and-white photos, I had fun locating old motor courts that had been converted to other uses, and everywhere I went, I began to recognize buildings that had once been filling stations or roadside diners. The old America is still there; you just have to know how to look for it. [p.282]

To all of them who went out of their way to help me, thank you for reassuring me that Annie’s America is still out there, and is still ours. [p.282]