Summary

In the Prologue, set in 1938, during Mrs. Arthur J. Hornbeck’s annual Christmas shopping trip with her husband, she saw Buddy Jr. waving at the train as it passed Whistle Stop, Alabama. She noticed that he only had one arm. During each following year’s trip, she always looked for him and wondered what happened to him.

In “Sheriff Grady Kilgore,” set in 1991, Grady, the former sheriff of Whistle Stop, looked at the kudzu vines covering the buildings that once housed the Whistle Stop Cafe, post office, and beauty shop. Grady pointed out those buildings to his grandson, who was not interested in the history.

Grady told his grandson about Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison who once ran the cafe. He said that Ruth’s son, Buddy, had grown up in the cafe. Grady commented that Buddy had lost his arm...