If you come up from a two-room house attached to a chicken farm, as I have, be reassured that you do not forget your start. The earliest memories are the most vivid. Some of these rural areas are quite poor, and life is hardscrabble. (My babysitter was raped by her uncle at the age of 13. Her brother spent a lot of time hunting to help the family get by.) That said, and seeing the backdrop, you appreciate the gentility and classiness of John Edwards all the more.