All over but the Shoutin'

Many people may consider this a sad story, but I instead consider it a life experience. In some ways it was sad, but in many others it was a happy story. Many people live lives like that, and have no chance to share their story like Rick Bragg did. He was able to get in to journalism at a young age, and then eventually get a Pulitzer Prize winner for the New York Times instead of becoming just someone working in the cotton mills. Rick wanted a point in life from a very earlier age, and wanted to do something that would make his momma happy. All children can do things to make their mommas happy but Rick felt it needed to be something really special.

The family went through a lot. The brothers’ father was a true drunk and left the family many times without enough food and warmth, but momma always worked something out for the boys even if they meant she had to go a meal or two without food, or not have pants or a sweater. Parents always say they will do everything they can for you, but this normally means buying something and providing for their children. This women and mother did not have the money to buy the things her children needed, rather she got clothes given to her that had been worn, and food that was old. This is a true example of what a mother will do for you when in time of need.

Later in life as Rick got richer in money, and not in family, he helped his mother grow. He was going to New York to accept the Pulitzer Prize and wanted his mother to go with him. Through a few man-made struggles they made it, and from that time on momma talked about that time she flew to New York. Trips that are taken by people are sometimes not valued as an experience that is special when some people have never even thought about flying on a plane or going on a trip.

It was a very good book to read to understand that not only blacks lived in the south and were poor but there were also whites. Having this book being written in the last 20 years, allows young adults to react to it and understand that many people live this story daily but get unnoticed by society, because they had nothing special in their lives happen. You do not have to have an eventful life to live a good life. Like Rick and his family, they did not have a eventual life with money, but they did have an eventful life dealing with a father that was drunk and struggling to stay warm in the winter and having food to eat. I have never dealt with thinking about if I was going to be warm on a winter night when I sleep, or if there is going to be enough food for my whole family on the table tonight. I respect all those people that live with these worries and struggles on a daily life and am thankful for all I do have.