Drunken driving is against the law and heavily penalized in the Mississippi Delta like everywhere else. But people here were more willing to take their chances, or less willing to let the law cramp their style, and some of them could barely conceive of going down the road without a beer or a traveler. As one man explained to me, “You never know what’s going to happen, especially at night. You might end up in a ditch, and damn sure need a drink of whiskey.”
