"Hitchhikers"-This collection is about the joy of being alive. It's about the magic of the shimmering summer sun dancing on the surface of a river. It's about that timeless river of liquid gold that stimulates and illuminates our lives. It is about love, laughter, kudzu, companionship, faith and justice.

John R. Cooke grew up in the rural South during the 1940s and 50s. He closely observed the birth of rock-n-roll and the societal tsunami precipitated by "Brown v the Board of Education." His was a world of gracious tradition, a world of snake and mosquito infested swamps-a world of great...