by: Marty Chrisman
Thursday was the day of the big cross country race. All the lead foots in the county was entered in the big event, with Bo and Luke the local favorites to win just as they had done for the past five years. The boys had spent the entire morning making sure that the General was in top running condition. As Miss Hazzard Homecoming, Daisy was the official starter for the race.
The cars were lined up in the town square. The course would go outside of town for 10 miles in a loop with the finish line being back at the beginning again. As long as each car passed each checkpoint, the drivers had the choice of staying on the blacktop or cutting across country to try and get to the finish line first. The catch with cutting cross country was the various obstacles they could encounter along the way.
Bo was sitting behind the wheel of the General with Luke riding shotgun as usual. As always before a race, Bo was impatient to get started. He revved the Charger’s powerful engine and drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, waiting for Daisy to shoot the starting pistol. The second she fired the gun, Bo tromped on the accelerator and the General shot forward ahead of the other cars, easily taking the lead. Twenty cars raced for the city limits and open country.
Luke’s responsibility was to navigate and give Bo instructions on the best route to take or to warn him of upcoming obstacles so that Bo could concentrate solely on his driving. As a team, the boys were unbeatable. They knew each others moves inside out and could anticipate each others thoughts. None of the other teams had the same kind of ability to function almost as one person instead of two as the Duke boys did.
As soon as they were out of town, Bo twisted the wheel hard to the left and cut across a field, heading for the first checkpoint. He wasn’t the only driver who chose to take the same route but he was the only driver who could handle the powerful Dodge Charger on the rough terrain as easily as he could on the blacktop. The number 4 car spun out and wreaked into a fence before he even made it into the field.
The car bounced over the field at an almost reckless speed. Several of the other drivers had slowed down not wanting to take any chances cutting across open land at too high a speed. It was too easy to lose control of your vehicle if you suddenly found yourself right on top of an unexpected obstacle. But the high rate of speed that Bo could drive at and still keep perfect control of the General, no matter what kind of terrain he was running on, was one of Bo and Luke’s trademarks. It was also one of the reasons they generally won the cross country race each year they were entered.
Luke saw Hazzard Creek coming up and braced himself for what he knew was about to happen. With a loud “YEEEEEHAAAAAAA!” Bo steered the front of the General up the slight incline on the bank of the creek and the car went airborne, sailing over the creek effortlessly. For the briefest of moments, there was that fleeting feeling of weightlessness, and then the General came down on the other side with a bone jarring jolt. Bo sped away well ahead of the other drivers. Spotters along the route were reporting back to the finish line a minute by minute commentary on the race. None of the spectators back at Hazzard Square were surprised to hear that the General Lee was in the lead.
Bo flew back onto the blacktop just long enough to pass the first checkpoint and then he was heading back across open country again. There were two more checkpoints to get past before the end of the race. At the second checkpoint, another car closed in on the General but spun out at the last minute, hitting the rear quarter panel of the General as they spun out and went into a rollover. The General Lee fishtailed for a minute but Bo soon got the car back under control and was still leading the pack. At the last checkpoint, Bo stayed on the blacktop to head back into town. He passed the city limit sign going almost eighty miles an hour. The crowd in the square started screaming, yelling and clapping when they saw the orange car tearing down the street toward the finish line. As Bo skidded across the finish line he triumphantly blew the horn which played the first 12 notes of Dixie.
People crowded around the General as the boys climbed out of the car slapping them on the backs and congratulating them on winning the race. Laughing, the boys climbed the steps that led to the stage built in the middle of the square to accept the trophy as first place winners of the race. Deputy Enos Strate stepped up to the mike and grinned at the crowd. “Alright, folks! Here they are…the winners of the race….Bo and Luke Duke.” Enos looked at the boys, who stood side by side, with their arms around each other’s shoulders, grinning at the crowd. “Now, boys, I know that Miss Hazzard Homecoming usually presents the trophy to the winner of the race…but this year we got a special presenter to give y’all your trophy….” He paused for dramatic effect and then said in an excited voice “Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Sierra Dawson!”
The crowd absolutely went wild, screaming and clapping as the country music star walked out on stage from the wings, carrying the two foot trophy that went to the boys as the winner of the race. Bo grinned as Luke, who smiled back faintly, his eyes fixed on the face of the woman walking towards them.
Sierra Dawson wasn’t just pretty, she was gorgeous with flashing emerald green eyes fringed with thick dark lashes and long honey blonde hair that hung below her waist in one long braid. She was dressed in a pair of black leather pants, black boots, and a white cowboy shirt with black fringe on the yoke and the sleeves, topped off by a white cowboy hat. She flashed the crowd a big smile and waved as she walked towards the boys. She handed the trophy to Bo and kissed him on the cheek. Stepping up to the microphone, she said in a rich sultry voice “My oh my….are all the guys in Hazzard as cute as you two?” She laughed and turned her attention to the crowd “If they are, I just might have to move down here.”
Her comments got another round of hearty applause from the crowed.” She turned and looked back at the boys, her eyes locking for just a moment with Luke’s and then she said “Seriously, that was a great race and you’re both fantastic drivers. Congratulations.” She clapped her hands together in a round of applause for the boys. Taking the mike off the stand so she could hold it in her hand, she said “And now, I’d like to sing a song and dedicate it to Bo and Luke Duke as winners of the cross country race.” With that she launched into a rocked up version of Hot Rod Lincoln. Moving around the stage as she sang and keeping eye contact with the crowd, she had them in the palm of her hand, the trademark of a born entertainer. She finished the song to the roar of the crowd and put the mike back on the stand. With a wave of her hand, she left the stage, disappearing back into the wings.
Bo and Luke exited the stage and joined Uncle Jesse and Daisy who congratulated them on winning the race. Luke had a strained smile on his face, still unsettled by the unexpected appearance of Sierra Dawson. In that brief moment when their eyes had locked on stage, he had seen the fire in those green eyes that he remembered so well. Luke turned when he felt someone tugging on his sleeve and looked down at a little girl with blue eyes and long brown hair. Luke recognized her as Patty Hayes, the post mistresses eight year old granddaughter. “Hey, Luke…” she said with a slight lisp “Somebody wants you back stage….”
“Okay…I’ll be right there.” Luke told her. He glanced at his cousin and the rest of his family “I’ll catch up with y’all in a few minutes.” He told them as he turned to follow Patty around behind the stage.
Backstage, Luke looked through the crowd trying to figure out who wanted to see him. He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder and a sultry voice that he remembered even in his dreams said, “Hi, Luke.”
Slowly, he turned around to face Sierra, who was standing there smiling at him faintly. “Hello, Sierra.” He said when he finally found his voice again.
“Can we take a walk?’
“Uh…yeah…” Luke agreed unable to refuse graciously. Slowly they started walking towards the edge of the square and away from the crowd. As they walked, Sierra said, “I came to Hazzard because of you, Luke. I wanted to see you again. And after the way you always talked about this place and your family, I knew you’d still be here.”
“I’m glad you wanted to see me again. I guess I’m just wondering why.”
“To see if we were really over and if I was over you.” She told him
“That sounds like one of your songs.” Luke said trying to keep his voice light and casual.
“But I can make my songs come out the way I want them too.” She paused and stopped to look into his eyes “I could never seem to do that with you. You’re still a ghost in my life, Luke……and you won’t go away.”
“What do you want me to say?” Luke asked quietly, looking deeply into those incredible eyes that seemed to reach out and pull him into her universe.
“That you don’t love me anymore.” She whispered
Luke hesitated for several long seconds, debating rather to say what she wanted to hear or to be honest. Finally, he said in a choked voice “I can’t say that…..I wish I could.”
“I wish you could too….” Sierra said with a trace of sadness in her voice. She reached out and gently touched his cheek “Maybe then we could both walk away and get on with our lives….” Without another word, she turned and slowly walked away leaving Luke standing there alone and not really sure what had just happened.