Southern Hospitality

22. February 2009 by Joe Gergen.

I was just down in the Charlotte area for work. When I got back someone asked me if I had received any good southern hospitality.  I thought about it and thought, yes. People were very friendly and helpful in a little different way than in the north.

But I didn’t realize just how much this permeated or thought it permeated the culture until my traveling companions and I were checking the rental car back in.  I hadn’t really paid that much attention to the process of checking in and was standing near some benches where the shuttle to the airport picks you up.

I was gazing across the lot when I saw a sign that was giving instructions on how to check the car in. You know, park your car in designated spot, check for personal items, etc. Then the last line said ”Note:” and was followed by what I thought was ”Date,” ”Mileage” and lastly “Feel Love.” I was like, wow, that is really extending hospitality. I had already been addressed as sugar and love but this really sold me on southern hospitality.

My bad eyes forced me to walk a little closer to see what was really going on and I was disappointed when I found that it did indeed not say “Feel Love” but “Fuel Level.” It indeed made more sense but somehow I felt as if a little bit of my utopianesque view of southern hospitality had been torn away to reveal a little bit of that penny-pinching Yankee way.

 But then again, I don’t know how much of a Yankee I am since I grew up 40 some odd miles from the Canadian border in North Dakota. I’ve been accused of having a Canadian accent more often than a midwestern one, though I’ve never had “eh” as a part of my vocabulary. When I return to the Carolinas maybe I’ll try to explain that I’m not a Yankee but I suspect for all their southern hospitality they won’t really care about the distinction. Who can blame em.

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