View all New York Times newsletters. We wanted to see this world — the America of a country song. This was quintessential America, we thought, straight out of the movies — a star-spangled feast for the senses. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see the America of loud Fourth of July parties, a country that, like Hooters, is both crass and, oddly, family-friendly. That afternoon at Hooters, slightly nauseated from the deep-fried pickles, I had one thought running through my mind: Here I am, finally.

Source: New York Times July 04, 2017 07:18 UTC