Just about 6 miles outside of town on Route 59 there is a 2-mile stretch of woods where the trees bend over to touch each other and form a light tight tunnel. According to legend, it was not always that way. A long time ago, as the story goes, the trees stood straight as arrows pointing to the sky in all there splendor. Then one night, JJ “Bob” Martin was on his way home from seeing his ladylove down Dexter way. (We would tell you the name of JJ “Bob” Martin’s ladylove but it seems at the time she was attached to someone else by legal means and we would not wan to embarrass her here.)

Just a short way south of the trees JJ stopped to take care of business in the shrubs along side the road. As JJ finished his business in the shrubs and started back to his truck he noticed something big and white on the road entering the woods.

JJ thought no more of it as he got into his Ford Pickup and started on down the road. It had been a big night for him; he had managed to get his ladylove to say that she might love him in spite of that other man. JJ had been out all night and sure when you have been out all night things appear on the road before you but they soon go away and things are fine again.

JJ was about half way through the woods when there came a wind and the trees above him closed to form a canopy and the road became dark as night. JJ saw the big white headless horse cross the road in front of him, as the legend goes. JJ swerved his ford pickup and he hit the guardrail where his neck came in contact with the guardrail and went bouncing off into the swamp.  The next morning the Calhoun County Road crew found JJ headless in his truck, but for some strange reason his head has never been found and the trees never opened up above again.

It is said when a man goes a courting down Dexter way he should be aware of the Headless pickup truck driver and make sure that he has not walked in another man’s garden for one never knows when it will be back again.

Oh, and as for the headless horse, everyone knows a headless horse couldn’t see. It was just a bit of tarp that had flown off Jimmy James’s PU as he was on his way home to Dexter and his wife.