Buddy Wilkes served as a peace officer for over 30 years in South Carolina, starting as a Deputy Sheriff in rural Fairfield County and ending as a Captain with the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED). For decades SLED Agents drove U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond anywhere he wanted to go. During the Senator's last election campaign in 1996, it was Buddy's turn at the wheel. This book begins with a collection of humorous stories about the Senator as he travelled the state, then switches gears to take an unblinking look at the history of who and what influenced Strom Thurmond to become who he was.