{
  "id": 11414166,
  "title": "The Beautiful Plain",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/the-beautiful-plain",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-02T09:28:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Literary Hub",
    "slug": "literary-hub",
    "url": "https://lithub.com/the-beautiful-plain/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Laura didn't remember moving to Platte, Nebraska. Her father had taken the job of planning commissioner for the county when she was only three years old. Carrie had been Laura's closest friend since kindergarten, despite their differences as a city girl and a farm kid. They met in Miss Clearman's kindergarten, where Miss Clearman paired them together after noticing their tears. Carrie lived fifteen miles away on a farm stretching across two counties. Laura felt lucky to be chosen by Carrie, who went to Chicago every summer for school clothes. Carrie rode the school bus to Platte each morning, arriving at 6AM after a two-hour journey through gravel roads. Laura didn't have to leave her bed until 7:30, and her father often dropped her off on his way to work.",
  "summary": "Laura didn’t remember moving to Platte, Nebraska. She had only been three when her father took the job of planning commissioner for the county. Nor did she remember a moment when Carrie wasn’t her closest friend. Even though Carrie was",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}