Nativity, Caucasian by Allan Gurganus

"Nativity, Caucasian" by Allan Gurganus tells the tale of a man recanting the story of his birth at a bridge game. The ladies were all too busy playing Bridge to notice that a miracle was about to happen right in that very room. The only one who could sense the chaos coming was a cute little pekingese named Mikado.
Once the labor started, the ladies threw away their debutante manners, rolled up their sleeves, put on their big girl britches and got to work! ( except the one who fainted). The story was an entertaining representation of the hell that can break loose when a woman goes into labor with her first child.
I loved this story for the strangest reason. When Helen, the narrator's mother realized she was going into labor and shouted in a southern drawl "Oh, my Gawd! I've Stawrted!" That is now one of my favorite lines in literature.
A strange reason I know.  But that line really captured the southern atmosphere of the story. Yes, there were other signs such as the bridge game and the debutante ladies gathering together while the men played golf, but the way Gurganus wrote Helen's shout felt so authentic. I could honestly hear a southern woman shouting that as I read it (ok yeah, I said it out loud a second time. But if you recall my comment in class it's actually QUITE fun to say out loud! Try it! I dare you!)
Another great thing about this story was the two southern woman stereotypes that were brought out among the women when Helen went into labor. There's the southern belle dainty flower stereotype that fainted immediately, then the rest of the women sprung into action to help a fellow southern belle in need. One woman even dared to check if the baby was crowning all while apologizing like a lady! Guess that's southern hospitality for you!