[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 130 (Thursday, September 25, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1861]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING THE BRAGG FAMILY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. BOB RILEY

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 25, 1997

  Mr. RILEY. Mr. Speaker, years ago, in a little place called Possum 
Trot, AL, an amazing mother named Margaret Marie Bundrum Bragg 
protected her three sons. She guarded them selflessly against an 
alcoholic father's drunken rage; she shielded them from the hunger and 
poverty that often accompanies rural life; and she gave each of them 
the values of compassion, sensitivity, and self-esteem. She taught them 
that where they were did not determine where they could go.
  Her middle child, Rick Bragg, has proven her right. After only a 
semester of college, this native of Alabama's Third District went to 
work at the New York Times. In 1996, he won the highest honor that can 
be bestowed on a journalist--the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. 
Recently, Mr. Bragg wrote an autobiographical novel titled, ``It's All 
Over But the Shoutin' '', about his life growing up in rural Alabama. 
This book is already being praised by critics across the Nation and 
will likely become another jewel in Rick Bragg's literary crown.
  And while I do not wish, and would never want, to take anything away 
from this great Alabama writer, it is his mother, Margaret Bragg, who I 
seek to exalt today. It has been said that the hand that rocks the 
cradle rules the world. I think anyone who knows of the Bragg family 
would agree. For it is these mothers and fathers, these unsung heroes 
behind our greatest leaders, poets, authors, and athletes, that should 
be commended. It is they who sacrifice for their children, teach their 
children, and love their children. And, in so doing, mold this 
country's future. If not for them and their influence, America would 
not be the proud and gifted nation she is today. And I think Rick Bragg 
would agree.

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