Kindness and Sweet Tea
Things To Do
Kindness and Sweet Tea. The title of my story are the words my family and I kept repeating during our recent 10-day visit to Tennessee. I am born and raised a “Southern California girl” and love to venture out into the United States to see what different states have to offer. While visiting TN, I was bombarded by the kindness of the local residents we met/encountered during our stay. I left my camera behind at the Hertz car rental counter at the Memphis office and was quickly contacted to inform me they had my property and would hold it for me until I returned to pick it up. The waitress at the Peabody Hotel was fabulous and told my husband and me she was raised to call everyone “Ma’am and Sir,” no matter how old or young they are. We met a wonderful land developer in Knoxville who showed us some wonderful property and not once pressured us to buy anything. The employee at Southwest Airlines at Nashville International Airport who helped us with our luggage because my husband had pulled a muscle in his back. The teenaged boy who helped my daughter with the ice machine at a Fireman’s Sub shop somewhere between Memphis and Gatlinburg. We encountered countless random acts of kindness during our stay in your beautiful state. The gentleman who used his grocery “club” card to get us a discount at a store in Gatlinburg. To the wonderful waiter at the Big River Brewing Company in Nashville who sat down with us at dinner and chatted for a while. The waitress at Chili’s in Chattanooga who talked to us about growing up in Maryville and her childhood there. And the sweet tea! We were no sooner home that my husband was on the Internet trying to find out a recipe to duplicate the same sweet nectar we had all over the state. We are truly changed people since we have come back from our trip. The Grand ‘Ol Opry was the pinnacle of our trip. The history, stories, respect for other people were all things we have brought back to California with us. I am on “Tennessee time” drinking my “pretend sweet tea” in my cubicle, dreaming of the day I can return to your beautiful state and stay this time.
Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)