A man who buys bookss because they're pretty, part two

"It was as if God made them pay for the loveliness of their scenery by demanding everything else." I couldn't have said it better myself. In one paragraph he talks about the church scene, babies, mothers, potato salad, sweet tea, bbq, and the gospel and mirrors it with talks of bars, strip clubs, lost love, and betrayal. He then goes on to say that it was the backdrop and sound track of his life. This strikes a chord with me because as a child I felt as if I lived in a picture perfect Southern, Christian family by day and in a world of secrets by night. Bragg witnessed the takeover of the countryside by corporate America, and I too feel as if I have been living in the same time, although one can never really escape the ties with the country. He goes on to say "while I was never ashamed to be a Southerned there was always a feeling, a need, to explain myself." Everywhere I go, but especially in cities like Boston, I feel a need to prove myself educated and cultured, that people from the south are different from how they are characterized in the cinema and television. He also says that Southerness has become a fashion and I agree 100%. Men and women wear camouflage as if they have just stepped out of the woods. Girls bump their hair to great heights. Yet, I remember my grandfather as Bragg does, in clean overalls and a spotless white shirt buttoned to the neck...but when do you see people wearing that at the mall? He states that only religion held. He is in part correct, although God has evolved with the times. Bragg highlights an interesting point when mentioning that Baptists now beat drums and the Church of Christ allows coed swimming. Piano players started going to school for the skill, much different than in the old days when they simply learned at home. My ex boyfriend of six years is now in his final year as a composition major at Berklee College of Music.