Kissing Babies at the Piggly Wiggly — Robert Dalby

When Hale "Mr. Choppy" Dunbar decides to run for mayor in his hometown of Second Creek, Mississippi, Laurie Lepanto and her new husband, Powell Hampton, insist on managing his campaign. Even though his family-owned store, the Piggly Wiggly, was forced to close, Hale Dunbar is still beloved in Second Creek. Because the "Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly" dance sessions that Laurie and Powell initiated were immensely popular, Hale feels confident in the newlyweds' ability to organize a successful operation. After all, life in Second Creek is all about having a strong sense of community-albeit a quirky Mississippi Delta sense of community.

Backed by the Nitwitts-the town's most influential and enjoyably eccentric widows-Laurie and Powell begin plotting the kind of down-home mayoral campaign that will assure Hale's victory. Hale's opponent is the self-serving and obnoxious Floyce Hammontree, who frankly would have preferred a career as a lounge singer, but who simply cannot stand being driven out of office by a former grocer. Along the way, Gaylie Girl, Hale's long-lost love, returns to Second Creek to shake things up even more. But regardless of the challenges they are faced with-strange weather, backroom bribery, or the illness of one of Laurie's dear Nitwitts-the former boss of the Piggly Wiggly and his team find a way to outdo themselves once again.