The Color of Water (part tres)

    First things first, I have to get this off my chest.  I might be the only one thinking this, but it has gotten on my nerves for as long as I can remember.  Why, pray tell, do poor people have so many children when they clearly can't afford it?  The way that Ruth talks about having children it's as if they just pop out whenever they feel like it.  But now that that's out of the way, I have to actually talk about the book itself, which I frankly enjoyed.  Despite his rough start, McBride managed to eventually find solid ground on which to end the book and his incessant whining, pleasantly giving the book a respectful conclusion.  Although I have already stated my immense confusion and distaste for poor people who reproduce at ridiculous rates, I came to respect Ruth and actually wish that I could have met her.  Every day I hear of stories of people who pushed through adversity, but her story just seems to top them all.  Basically, older Ruth is much more impressive than younger Ruth, primarily because she seems much more human, as though she actually had some idea of the world around her rather than living in a state of induced obliviousness.
    Overall I would have to say this probably won't be a book I'll make a priority to remember.  Sure, it was a good read, and yes, it did paint an accurate vision of the prejudice in the older US via a firsthand account, but I just feel like it was a little too 'needy'.  Throughout the whole book McBride seemed to expect people to feel sorry for him and every other black person in the world, which is understandable, but at the same time, a bit outlandish.  Despite a shaky beginning, I managed to gain tidbits of knowledge and understanding from The Color of Water.