by: Marty Chrisman

The bright orange Dodge Charger tore along the dirt road at ninety miles an hour. Everybody in Hazzard County knew the General Lee. It was the most well known car in the county. And the most memorable. With its bright orange paint job, the big black 01 trimmed in white on both doors, the rebel flag painted on the roof, and the name General Lee painted above each door, it was a hard car to miss.

Equally well known in Hazzard County were the two cousins that co-owned the powerful stock car. The Duke Boys. Bo and Luke. Bo was the younger of the two cousins and he generally drove the General Lee. With his baby blue eyes, feathered light blonde hair and sexy smile, Bo was a favorite with the ladies. Luke, who usually rode shotgun beside his cousin, was the oldest of the three cousins who lived on the Duke farm. With his brown hair, sapphire blue eyes and crooked smile, he was just as popular with the ladies as his cousin. And both boys had a lean muscular build from their years of working on the farm. They were considered the two best catches in the County and most of the girls in the county would give anything just to spend some time with them. And the majority of them had at one time or another.

After a long hard day of working in the fields with their Uncle Jesse, the boys were headed to the local hangout to blow off some steam. The Boars Nest was the only honky-tonk in Hazzard County and the most popular. Everybody went there. Located about 7 miles outside of town, The Boars Nest was housed in a long cinder block building with a large dirt parking lot out front. It was owned by Boss Hogg, who owned most of Hazzard County and what he didn’t own, he held the mortgage on including the Duke family farm.

Bo turned the wheel and spun the General into the parking lot, throwing dirt and gravel up from beneath the rear tires. He skidded to a stop next to a white jeep CJ7 with a golden Eagle painted on the hood and the name Dixie written in script on either side of the Eagle. Laughing, the boys climbed out of the car. Since the General Lee was a full fledged stock car, the doors were welded shut so the only way to get in and out of the car was by climbing through the windows.

As the boys walked into the bar, several friends yelled out greetings as they made their way through the crowd towards the bar. Their cousin, Daisy Duke, was on duty behind the bar. With her blue eyes and long chestnut brown hair, she was the prettiest and most popular girl in Hazzard County. Dressed in her usual attire which consisted of a tank top and short shorts that barely covered her backside, she made the men drool. But all the guys in Hazzard knew not to try and get too fresh with Daisy unless they wanted to tangle with the Duke boys and nobody in their right mind wanted to do that. The boys had started and ended most of the bar fights at the Boars Nest.

Daisy had already poured two mugs of the watered down beer that Boss Hogg served and had them sitting on the bar by the time the boys made it that far. Smiling their thanks, they spotted an empty table at the back of the room and made their way in that direction. They sat down and each took a drink of their beer. It wasn’t long before the unattached girls in the bar started drifting over to their table. Talking, laughing and flirting with both boys.

It wasn’t long before Bo and Luke had each made their choice of a girl to spend the evening with. Bo was with Cindy Mitchell, a pretty little blonde with a Dolly Parton figure and Luke was with Anita Hogan, a pretty brunette with big brown eyes. The boys spent the next few hours laughing, playing the jukebox and dancing with the girls. It didn’t take much persuading to talk the girls into leaving with them to go to Hazzard Lake for awhile. Once there, both boys found a nice isolated spot where they spent some time seriously making out with the girls they were with.

It was after two A.M. before the boys finally made it back home. Climbing out of the General, they went up the steps to the screened in back porch. They entered the weather beaten two story frame house through the back door that opened into the kitchen. Without bothering to turn on any lights, they quietly made their way through the darkness and up the stairs to the bedroom they had shared since they were children. Once inside their room, Bo sat down on the bed closest to the door, while Luke walked over to the bed on the other side of the room. They quickly stripped off their clothes and boots, and then crawled into bed. Soon they were both sleeping soundly.

The sun was just rising above the horizon the next morning when Jesse Duke climbed out of bed. After dressing, he crossed the hall to the room directly across from his and knocked lightly. “I’m up, Uncle Jesse.” Daisy’s voice called out cheerfully. Smiling, the Duke patriarch walked on down the hall to the boy’s room. He knew the boys had been out late the night before but days start early on the farm and he didn’t cut the boys any slack when it came to doing their work around the farm.

Opening the door, he crossed the room to Luke’s bed and gently shook his oldest nephew’s shoulder “Luke,” he said quietly “Time to get up.” Jesse always woke Luke up first because he was a lighter sleeper than his cousin and then he left it up to Luke to wake up Bo and get him moving. Luke slowly opened his eyes, then yawned and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Satisfied that Luke was awake, Jesse left the bedroom and went downstairs to the kitchen where Daisy was already fixing breakfast.

Jesse was in his early sixties with a headful of white hair and a full white beard. He had the strength, stamina and energy of a much younger man. He was the head of the Duke clan and his word was law and always obeyed. Out of love and respect mostly but always obeyed. He had raised the three cousins since each of them was a baby and as far as he was concerned they were his kids and not just his niece and nephews. They were a loving, close knit family who stuck together no matter what.

Daisy had just finished making breakfast when the boys came downstairs and joined Jesse at the table. Daisy quickly dished up pancakes with maple syrup and sausages on three plates, sitting one in front of Uncle Jesse and each of the boys. Jesse drank coffee while each of the boys drank a large glass of milk with their breakfast. Daisy fixed her own plate and sat down at the table across from the two boys.

Their breakfast conversation centered around the upcoming Hazzard Homecoming. The homecoming was an annual event in Hazzard. It was a week long celebration with games, food, contests, a talent show, a cross country race and a big concert at the end of the week that always featured a famous Country Music Artist. People who’d moved out of Hazzard, some of them years ago, came back every year for the event. It was a chance to see old friends and family who had moved away to make a new life somewhere else. It was one of the biggest and most anticipated events of the year. And it was less than a week away.

“Hey, Bo” Daisy said with a grin “You gonna be in the rattlesnake sacking contest this year?”

“Sure am.” Bo said, earning a stern look from Uncle Jesse for talking with his mouth full. He swallowed and smiled apologetically.

“And I’m gonna make some of my secret barbeque sauce.” Jesse said with a smile. He always won first place with his sauce. “You boys signed up for the race yet?”

“You bet.” Luke said confidently “And the General’s rearing to go.”

“And we’re both in the talent show” Bo said, grinning at his Uncle.

“Well, I found out who’s gonna be at the concert this year.” Daisy said in an excited voice “Sierra Dawson.”

“Hey, that’s great!” Bo exclaimed “She’s fantastic and pretty too.”

“Well that ain’t all,” Daisy said bubbling over with excitement as she continued with her news. “I also heard that she’s gonna be staying in Hazzard for a couple of weeks and appearing at the Boars Nest to try out some material for a new CD.”

“Hey, how about that?” Bo said his own voice rising with excitement “I wonder if we’ll get a chance to meet her?”

“I’m gonna get started on my chores” Luke said, shoving back his chair and standing up. Without further comment, he left the house and went outside.

“What’s the matter with him?” Daisy asked in a puzzled voice. It wasn’t like Luke to be rude and besides that he usually waited for Bo to finish eating before they started their chores.

“I don’t know.” Bo said “I guess he’s just not that excited about the homecoming this year.”

“Well, just leave him be.” Jesse said “Everybody’s entitled to a bad day and you boys were out awful late last night.”