Part 2, Chapter 27 Summary

Willie attended the Clanton Fourth of July festivities, which were mostly a series of political rallies for area politicians. After the Kassellaw murder and sniper rampage, crime was a big issue. It was the summer of 1971, but there was no talk of Vietnam. Willie noted that at least 50,000 soldiers had died so far in Vietnam, and he was surprised that it was never mentioned during the local elections.

The first week of August, the town gathered to vote and to watch the election results come in. In the days leading up to the election, Willie had plenty to report: a fistfight among two candidates outside a church, two lawsuits, and one man arrested for defacing a rival candidate's billboards. The night of the election returns, citizens gathered in the town square with lawn chairs, food and drinks to watch two giant...