The soil in southern Louisiana's swamp country -- it's marshy, unstable, and will sink beneath you when you least expect it. To take root, it takes something special. The roots of a cypress sink into it, make their home amongst the reeds, crocodiles, and other swamp life that threaten to choke out less hardy stuff. Those same roots unfurl upward, break the surface and take in air. The tree stands for centuries, unwavering, despite famine, hurricanes, and infestations. Like the bald cypress that inhabit those swamps, and much like her mother was, this girl's made of that hardscrabble material.