The author, while indeed born in Massachusetts, is by all accounts a Southerner. Check her bio -- she even got her M.A. at Mississippi. I just came here to say

The author, while indeed born in Massachusetts, is by all accounts a Southerner. Check her bio -- she even got her M.A. at Mississippi. I just came here to say what an excellent piece of writing this was. I won't even dignify the rest of your comment, and honestly having read it here saddens me.