Arts & Life

NPR's Backseat Book Club is back! And we begin this round of reading adventures with a cherished classic: Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. Generations of children and adults have loved this book. With vivid detail and simple, yet lyrical prose, Black Beauty describes both the cruelty and kindness that an ebony-colored horse experiences through his lifetime — from the open pastures in the English countryside to the cobblestone grit of 19th-century England.

When voters go to the polls in San Diego on Tuesday, many of them will be greeted by Boyd Applegate. The 56-year-old truck driver has worked nearly every election — primaries and general elections — for the past 20 years.

Election Day starts early for Applegate. Around 4 a.m., he piles ballots and election materials into his car and drives the 25 miles to the precinct. Throughout the day, he is greeted by people who recognize him as the guy at the polls, year after year.