“The Blade.”
“Oh, yes. Well, I don’t want to be interviewed.”
“I think I understand, Mrs. Lintig. Naturally, you resent the idea of having a newspaper pry into your affairs. But you could give us just a few of your impressions on returning to the city — it’s been some time since you were here.”
“Twenty-one years.”
“How does the city look to you now?”
She said, “It looks like the damnedest hick burg — to think I spent a part of my life here! If I could only get back the time I wasted here, if I only could—” She paused, peered at me and said, “I suppose that’s the wrong thing to say.”
“It is.”
“I was afraid it was. What should I say?”
“About how the town still retains its distinct individuality. Other cities may have grown faster, but seem to have lost their individuality in the process. Oakview has the distinctive charm which always characterized it.”
She peered at me through narrowed eyes.