by: Marty Chrisman

Luke Duke and his cousin, Bo (Better known in Hazzard County as the Duke Boys) were busy unloading bags of feed from the back of Uncle Jesse’s pickup truck. Both boys had lean muscular builds developed from years of working on the farm. The Duke family had lived in Hazzard County for over five generations. Most of them were buried in the family cemetery high on a hill behind the barn. Jesse’s wife, Martha, was buried there, along with Luke and Bo’s parents, and their cousin Daisy’s parents.

The three Duke cousins had lived with their Uncle Jesse since they were little. Luke had been five years old when he came to live on the farm with Jesse and Martha. He was the first to arrive. His mother had died when he was born and his father had been killed in mining accident. Bo was the next to arrive, just a few short months after Luke. He had only been a baby at the time. His parents had been killed in a car accident. Daisy had been the last to arrive. She was six years old at the time, two years younger than Luke and two years older then Bo. Her mother had died when she was three in a car accident and her father had died making a moon shine one dark and stormy night. He had lost control of his car on dead man’s curve and went over the side of the mountain. Raised together on the farm by Uncle Jesse and Aunt Martha, the three cousins were inseparable. Bo and Luke were closer than brothers.

“Come on, Bo” Luke said in his slow southern drawl “Git a move on it or we’ll never git to the Boar’s Nest.” He grinned as he tossed a bag of feed to his younger cousin.

Bo grunted as he caught the bag in his arms and tossed it on top of the other bags lying just inside the barn door.

“How come I get to catch and you get to throw?” Bo complained good naturedly

“Because you lost the toss.” Luke told him with a grin. Good natured bickering between the boys was common place.

“You two about done?” Jesse said coming out of one of the stalls that he had been cleaning inside the barn. Jesse Duke had a head full of snowy white white and a full white beard. In his early sixties, he was still as spry as a man half his age. On the Duke Farm, Jesse’s word was law and was always obeyed, mostly out of love but always obeyed.

“Yes, sir.” Both boys echoed simultaneously. Between the two of them, they did most of the chores around the farm and they knew they had to finish their work before Uncle Jesse would let them leave. They not only loved their Uncle, they respected him. To them, he was the only father either of them had ever known.

Luke climbed into the bed of the truck and grabbed the last bag of feed, tossing it to Bo. “Careful, Luke” Bo teased him “Wouldn’t want you to strain anything. Becky Jean might not be too happy if you do.”

Luke laughed as he jumped down out of the truck. “You ain’t got no room to talk. I saw you making eyes at Susie Thompson last night.” Two of the best looking boys in Hazzard, Bo and Luke had no problem attracting girls. Like opposite sides of the same coin, Bo (who had just turned 18) had baby blue eyes and blonde hair, while Luke’s hair was dark and his eyes a deep sapphire blue. Luke, at twenty three, was the oldest of the Duke cousins. With their easy sexy smiles and southern charm, they could have any girl in the county they wanted. Neither one of them was ready to settle down (sometimes Uncle Jesse wondered if they ever would be) they were having too much fun being single and available. More than one girl in Hazzard had tried to lay claim to one of the boys but none had succeeded yet.

“If you’re done you can go but be back in time for supper.” Jesse ordered sternly.

“Yes, sir” Bo called over his shoulder as the boys ran across the barnyard towards their car, The General Lee. Now the General was as well known in Hazzard County as the boys were. A stock car, the boys had built the General themselves and to the Dukes, The General was one of the family. With its bright orange paint job, the big black 01 trimmed in white on each door, the confederate flag painted on the roof and the name The General Lee above each door, the car was a legend in Hazzard County. It was the fastest car around and the boys were the best drivers.

But then the boys had learned how to drive from the best. Uncle Jesse had been the best ridge runner in the county. With his car, Black Tillie, he could outrun the law before they even knew he was around. When the boys got old enough, they had started helping Jesse make his deliveries. But that had ended a few months ago when the boys were busted making a run. To keep the boys from going to prison, Jesse had made a deal with the government. He would stop making his shine if they would let the boys go. The government agreed and let the boys go with two years probation and time served. And with that, Jesse was out of the moonshining business. (Although he still had a few jugs hid away for medicinal purposes.) When Jesse quit making his shine, the Dukes had lost a large chunk of their yearly income and they had depend more on the farm to support themselves. To help out, the boys raced The General every chance they got. (Sometimes for money, sometimes for fun)

Jesse watched fondly as the boys climbed into the General through the windows. (the doors were welded shut to keep them from flying open in case of an accident during a race) Bo slid under the wheel and the powerful engine roared to life. With a spurt of dust, the boys drove away.

Ten minutes, Bo pulled into the dirt parking lot in front of the Boar’s Nest, the local honky-tonk where the boys spent a lot of their time when they were working on the farm. It was the local hang out for just about everybody in town. Bo pulled the General in beside a white jeep CJ7 with the name Dixie written on the hood in gold. The jeep belonged to Daisy, who worked at the Boar’s Nest as a waitress.

The inside of the bar was dimly lit and smoky. Several voices called out, greeting Bo and Luke as they came in. Daisy, who was working behind the bar, smiled when she saw the boys and quickly filled two mugs with ice cold beer and sat the glasses on the bar. Daisy was the prettiest girl  in Hazzard County. Five feet seven, she had the same blue eyes as the boys and long chestnut colored hair. She could shoot like Annie Oakley, drive like Richard Petty, and outfight most of the guys in Hazzard. (after all she was a Duke) And she knew the words to every Dolly Parton song. A lethal combination in a very attractive package.

By the time the boys had picked up their beers from the bar and made their way to a table in the back of the room, Connie Anderson had latched onto Bo and Barbie Sanders had latched onto Luke. The boys only had a couple of hours before supper, so they made the best of it since they had to leave sooner than they normally would have.

Since Daisy was working, Jesse was doing the cooking tonight and he didn’t tolerate them being late when he was the one making supper.

The boys got back home just as Jesse finished setting the table. He glanced up as they came into the kitchen through the back door and said firmly, “Go get washed up so we can eat.”

The boys went through the living room and up the stairs to the bathroom. After washing up, they came back downstairs and took their usual places at the kitchen table. Jesse sat at the head of the table with Bo on his left and Luke sitting beside Bo. Daisy usually sat on Jesse’s right. When Aunt Martha was alive, she had always sat on the other side of Daisy, across from Luke. (That way her and Jesse could both keep a close eye on the boys in case they misbehaved at the table when they were little) The boys bowed their heads as Jesse said the prayer before they ate, a family ritual that Jesse insisted on before every meal.

“You boys going back out tonight?” Jesse asked

“I am” Bo said “I got a date with Connie Anderson.”

“I’m not.” Luke said “I’m leaving to go Boar hunting in the morning.”

“How long are you planning on being gone?”

“Three or four days.”

“Well, you get one and I’ll cook it” Jesse glanced at Bo sternly “And you make sure you get in before dawn. You’ll have to do your chores and Luke’s too while he’s gone.”

“Yes, Sir.” Bo said with a grin.

After supper, the boys did the dishes, then Bo left for his date. Luke spent most of the evening getting things ready for his camping trip. He was leaving at five thirty in the morning, so he turned in early. He fell asleep quickly, comforted by the familiar sounds of the night that he had heard all his life.