by: Marty Chrisman

Hazzard County, Georgia. There’s no place quite like it in the world. The people are friendly, you can always count on a helping hand, and everybody knows everybody else. You don’t need a newspaper to know what’s going on, just call your neighbor. And even when people leave Hazzard, they seem to always come back sooner or later.

There isn’t a whole lot to do in Hazzard. The local hangout is The Boar’s Nest, a typical southern honky-tonk where good ole boys (and girls) gather to drink, have a good time and raise hell. The most popular waitress at the Boar’s Nest was Daisy Duke.

Daisy was the prettiest girl in Hazzard County. In her early twenties, she had long chestnut colored hair, big blue eyes and a smile that could melt the heart of any man. She also had more beaus than she could shake a stick at. But anyone who wanted to go out with Daisy knew they’d better toe the line or they have to deal with her cousins, Bo and Luke Duke. And nobody in their right mind (at least in Hazzard County) would tangle with the Duke boys.

It was a typical day at the Boars Nest. Even though it was still early afternoon, the regular power drinkers were already gathered getting an early start on their evening of fun. Daisy was busy serving drinks, flirting with the customers and keeping an eye out for trouble. From the corner of her eye, she saw a woman walk in and take a seat at the end of the bar. Finishing with the order she was taking, she walked towards the bar to wait on the new arrival.

There was something vaguely familiar about the woman for some reason but Daisy couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She was casually dressed in jeans and a yellow tee shirt and appeared to be in her mid twenties. She had a deep golden tan, waist length honey blonde hair and big brown eyes. She smiled as Daisy approached her and said, “Hi, Daisy.” She had a rich sultry voice that sounded like fine whiskey being poured over cracked ice at the end of a long hard day. A voice that Daisy recognized immediately.

Daisy’s eyes lit up when she realized who the woman was. “Lynn!” she exclaimed in an excited voice. Lynn Conway, one of the most popular former residents of Hazzard County. In her younger days, Lynn had raised hell with the best of them including Daisy and her two cousins. She had left Hazzard seven years ago when she was 18. “What are you doing back in Hazzard?” Daisy asked as she quickly embraced her old friend.

“Got tired of the big city.” Lynn told her with a laugh.  “Decided to come back home.”

“For good?” Daisy asked in a surprised voice?”

“For good.” Lynn told her

“A lot of people are gonna be surprised to see you again….especially Bo and Luke.”

“How are those two cousins of yours?” Lynn asked “Still getting in trouble and raising hell?”

“Of course. They’re Dukes, ain’t they?” Daisy told her with a laugh “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Just a coke.”

Daisy went behind the bar and took a can of coke out of the cooler. She sat it on the bar in front of Lynn along with a glass. “Where are you gonna be staying?”

“My grandmother left me her house when she died so I figured that’s as good a place as any.”

“Great! We’ll be neighbors again.” Daisy said with a pleased smile. Although Lynn was two years older than Daisy, they had been close friends throughout their younger years. Lynn had spent as much time at the Duke farm as she had at her own house. “You know that Uncle Jesse’s gonna want you to come out to the house for supper. How about tonight?”

“I can’t tonight but tell Uncle Jesse that I will real soon.”

“I still can’t believe that you’re really back”

“Neither can I. I thought about coming back before but it just never seemed like the right time until now.” She glanced around the Boar’s Nest “I can remember singing in here when I was a kid. Does Boss Hogg still own this place?”

“This and most everything else in Hazzard County.” Daisy told her “And what he doesn’t own, he holds the mortgage on.”

“Is he still as crooked as ever?”

“As crooked as a dog’s hind leg.” Daisy said with a laugh “I’d be careful if I was you. Once Boss finds out you’re back in town he’ll be having Roscoe ticket you every chance he gets just Boss can git you to sing for free.”

“Well, Ole Roscoe will have to catch me first. I still remember how to drive like a ridge runner even if I haven’t had much practice since I left Hazzard.”

“You are gonna shake things up around here.” Daisy told her with a laugh “I can see that right now.”

Cooter Davenport, the local mechanic in Hazzard, and a close friend of the Duke family, came in and walked up to the bar. “Hey Daisy,” he said with a grin “Give me a beer, darling.” He glanced at Lynn and then did a double take when he recognized her. “Lynn Conway!” he exclaimed in a pleased voice “What are you doing here?”

“She’s back to stay.” Daisy told him before Lynn could answer for herself.

“Well, I’ll be…how about that?” Cooter glanced at Daisy with a huge grin on his face “Does Luke know she’s back yet?”

Daisy shook her head and grinned broadly “Not yet.”

“Oh man, I’d give anything to see his face when he finds out.” Cooter said with a hearty laugh. Everybody in Hazzard knew that Lynn and Luke had gone steady all through high school. They even talked about getting married after they graduated. Then Lynn up and left and nobody really knew for sure why. All Luke had ever told his family was that they’d had a fight. When graduation came, Luke joined the marines and left Hazzard too for four years. With Lynn back in Hazzard, sparks were bound to fly.

“The boys’ll be here later tonight.” Daisy told Lynn “Why don’t you come back then and we’ll have a little Hazzard style reunion.”

“I just might do that.” Lynn said finishing off her coke. “Right now I gotta go. I need to check out the house and see how bad a shape it’s in.”

“Well, if ya need any help fixing anything up ya just give me a holler.” Cooter told her

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She slid off the stool and turned to leave. As she disappeared out the door, Cooter looked at Daisy and shook his head “There’s gonna be fireworks.” He said with a crooked grin “And it ain’t even the fourth of July.”

“Especially once some of these good ole girls that have their eye on Luke find out that Lynn’s back in town.” Daisy said with a giggle.

“Oh, Lord…” Cooter said “Things are gonna heat up around here.”

“You got that right.” Daisy agreed. “I better git back to work before Boss tries to fire me again.”  She grabbed a tray and went to clear off some tables. The place would start filling up soon and she’d be so busy she wouldn’t have another chance to take a break until after closing time.