So sittin' here watchin' some TV one night, I done came across an episode of Dukes of Hazzard. I watched Dukes of Hazzard every day after school, sitting with my big brother, eating whatever my mom would let us snack on that wouldn't spoil our dinners. Because the show was at its peak when I was pretty young, I'm always in awe of anyone who can keep the details straight, even with reruns. But sitting here as an adult, watching the credits fade and turn into a 2 a.m. informercial, I couldn't help but reflect on how totally hot John Schneider was back in those days. So I did a search at Google for Dukes of Hazzard slash. The first site listed was that of James Walkswithwind, and I picked the story on her page that talked about hurt/comfort, Bo/Luke and lots of nudity. As the Dukes would say, yeeeeeehaw!

The story is called "Like a River," and for the Dukes of Hazzard uninitiated, Bo and Luke are cousins. If that squicks you, you obviously wouldn't want to read this story, as Bo and Luke get naked under a tree and make out like bandits. I get the impression that this story was written awhile ago, seeing as the page it's on hasn't been updated since Dec. 2000, and Dukes of Hazzard is listed under "old fandoms" (as in fandoms she hasn't written in awhile, not when the show aired). Having read James' stuff before (and assuming she was male...sorry...bad Jane!...), I went into this with a fair amount of faith that it would be at least entertaining. And it was.

The premise: Bo is gay, and being from a little backwater county, he's afraid of what Uncle Jesse, Daisy and particularly Luke (who he's in love with) would think of him if they knew. He takes off to Atlanta, hoping to sew his wild oats and get it out of his system so he can go home again. He leaves behind a cryptic note telling them not to worry.

As we all know, it's pretty hard to get something like being gay out of your system, and Bo is miserable. Without giving away all the details, Luke finds him and events ensue.

The story begins with some great introspection on Bo's part as he leans against the General Lee in his usual thinking place, pondering how much he loves his home and how said home clashes with his feelings. I'm tempted to say that it drags ever so slightly here, although the preamble really is necessary. James did a great job of portraying the Hazzard lingo, like "We'd best either cool down or find us a shady spot," or the ultimate, "I left home because I didn't want to tell y'all that I'm queer."

The story rolls along nicely, with great descriptions of Bo entering a gay bar and feeling out of place. It skips back and forth between Bo in Atlanta and the Duke family worrying about him. The Duke family scenes repeated the same themes - the trio being worried about him, and loving him no matter what. I enjoyed the story more when the attention was kept on Bo, because he was where the action was. The original characters were well drawn and nicely subtle, the best example of which is Justine, who plays a role in Bo's self discovery. (Forgive me if Justine made an appearance in the series and isn't an original character. It's been awhile for me and the Dukes of Hazzard.)

The sex is well placed and done in such a way that it fits with the story, rather than jumping out at you in a "here comes a sex scene!" way. And who knew there would be a blanket handy in the trunk of the General Lee? There's a twist at the end, involving a childhood friend, that doesn't really need to be there. By that time, I was all about Bo and Luke. The childhood friend, I suspect, was put there to show why Bo was so afraid of coming out, but I think it's safe to say that any Southern county where people say "y'all" and are in each other's business is not an ideal coming out atmosphere. His fears were justified whether he had a childhood friend or not.

My favorite line in the whole story was from Bo's perspective, when he surmises about what Uncle Jesse will think when they find out he's gay:

This is a lot bigger than knocking down a barn with the General Lee.

No shit, man.

It's too bad this is an "older fandom" for James, because I'd like to read more of these. I couldn't quite bring myself to dig in to the untitled Bo/Roscoe series she's got there. Now that squicks me. Although I suppose it's better than Bo/Flash.

CABS grade: B+