The Ag Boys

Book excerpt: An unforgettable look at an obscure part of the deep south just before the dawning of the Civil Rights movement and the turbulent 1960s would forever change it forever. A unique blend of humor, pathos, and bitter reality throws a harsh and revealing light on this this strange time and the people who were a part of it. Examine a place where the past is never past, and history hangs over the hot dirt roads and swamps like a morning mist. Examine a now forgotten world where men could die over a load of wet cotton, a cock fight, a fence line, a missing hog, or a romantic promise not kept. A place where the past lies like a rattlesnake under a bush waiting to strike. A world where little boys had hookworms and old black men sold Bolita. A world where a dream book could tell the future and a root doctor could cure an illness or fix a romance gone bad. It is a strange and mysterious world, full of fear and superstitions, strange people and strange customs. It is a world where black magic and old time religion go hand in hand. A world of tobacco fields and outhouses, pulpwood and moonshine stills, juke joints and whore houses. In the fall of 1959, a small group of frightened young high school boys gather in the late afternoon twilight to become a part of their local chapter of the Future Farmers of America. However, this was to be much more than a simple initiation. This was to become more than just one more school function. This night would change all their lives as they have to decide what price was too much to pay for being one of The Ag Boys.