That Southern Hopsitality is for real

Just now getting back into the swing of things after a week in Houston, Atlanta and Virginia. But I"m here to tell you, Southern Hospitality is for real. The folks in Houston were so friendly I didn't want to leave -- never mind eating so much at dinner that I couldn't move. I've never seen (or consumed) a larger or more delicious piece of dead animal in my life.
But from the moment  you land in Atlanta, the Southern thing is palpable. I took Marta in from the airport and they actually greet you and help you find your way. Compare that to New York that essentially leaves you on your own to figure your way thru the hostile crowd with no signage, no luggage ramps or escalators and when you get on an subway with  a suitcase you're looked at as if you are either crazy, or at best, taking up too much space.  When I emerged from Marta and headed off in the wrong directions with a confused look on my face, a kind gentleman asked me where I was going and got me straightened right out. When I left, it was blowing like stink and quite chilly, so the nice bellman at the Wyndham hotel gave me a lift to the nearest Marta station.
And all of that is just the kindness of strangers.
Never mind the wonderful hospitality of the folks at CocaCola that hosted the Executing Social Media Conference, my clients at Georgia Tech who treated me to a wonderful dinner and the memorable breakfast with Mike Neumieir from Arketi Group at the famous Silver Skillet. But the real highlight was hooking up with my childhood friend Sissy Steinbreder. Last time I saw her, I think she still had pigtails and a million freckles.Now she's advertising director at The New York Times in Atlanta and we both look just like our mothers. But she's just as funny, and warm and wonderful as the girl I remembered from 20 years ago. I'll never forget just how strong those bonds of childhood can be. 
Then it was off to Virginia where Charleen Wheeless at Raytheon provided me one of the most intellectually stimulating couple of hours I've ever spent. Charleen is what we call a Sashet -- a true goddess of metrics and measurment. She actually knows how to program in SAS! She loves data and makes decisions based on it and totally understands how to combine and learn from the data she collects. The conversation ranged from tying PR to sales to her role as a "risk mitigator" which may be the most insightful description ever of the real job of a  corporate communicator. 
I came home to a very cold house, a cat who wasn't sure who I was, and an empty refrigerator  (what do you expect when you've been traveling nearly continuously for 6 weeks) -- but oh do I miss that Southern Hospitality.