Whenever anyone mentions the simple times before internet research, when writers spent weeks in libraries searching (not that we don't do this occasionally), I sigh in approval. But, in the process of my book, I've made discoveries through google that I wouldn't have looked for. They've come at me sideways.
One, for example, is this essay by John T. Edge that was published in a 2003 Oxford American. I was simply searching "were there all night diners in 1968?" and this essay was a few links down. Googling isn't just a time thief but sometimes a comrade. With how long it's taken to write this novel, stories like this revive me.
Essentially, Edge starts with a love of third places (where unrelated people relate equally--typically diners and bars) and traces back the history of his favorite diner from college and its silk camisole wearing, chain smoking owner. He unearths some serious grit on old microfilm reels and meets the diner matron again, after he's learned what her and her husband contributed to the Klan.
Read the essay here.
And maybe you'll think about your favorite mom and pop dives and wonder... I dare you to dig.
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