When you’ve gone 300 miles and you’ve got 300 more to go, driving at night can test your limits. Slumped down in the seat, I vigilantly flipped through the radio stations in hopes of finding something–indeed anything–that would take my mind off of warm food and a comfortable bed.
Switching over to AM, I settled in for the long haul.
And then it happened.
“From Hollywood, it’s time now for…the orchestral music builds to a crescendo…Johnny Dollar.”
I couldn’t believe the benevolence of the rental car gods. Radio Noir was just the thing to get me through.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was one of the great old-time radio broadcasts of yesteryear. Each episode recounted the adventures of Johnny Dollar “the insurance investigator with the action-packed expense account.” The show derives it’s name from the fact that at the end of each episode, Johnny would total up his expense account and sign it, “Your truly, Johnny Dollar.”
The episode airing this night was “The Lorco Diamonds Matter” where Johnny was sent to Algiers to uncover the mystery behind a briefcase full of missing diamonds.
Making my way across Kansas by night, I basked in the green glow of the radio dial. And all I could do was smile at the simplicity of my great good fortune.
Kansas by night, somewhere along Highway 36.
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