Do you ever hear a cliche and wonder if there is really any truth in it? Well, when you hear the two simple words, southern hospitality, you can be assured there is a world of truth in them. On a recent trip to Savannah, Georgia, my mother and I saw the words put into action.
Everywhere we turned people were showing random acts of kindness. Okay, maybe there isn’t anything random when a server does a fantastic job and makes you feel like you are a special customer. Like what Carrie Jane did at the Lady and Sons restaurant on the corner of College and Whitaker Streets. Yes, we knew it was more than a server doing her job. Carrie Jane loves her job and the people she meets doing it. Her smile isn’t artificial and it is infectious.
Then there are the people you meet who are just like you, tourists on vacation. We found that the words southern hospitality also extended to so many of them. While seated at Lady and Sons a woman at the table beside ours asked if we’d like to share some of her delicious fried green tomatoes. We learned her name was Kim Jackson and she was from Jacksonville, Florida. That’s south, and she was certainly showing the same graciousness we were quickly growing used to.
On the Gospel Dinner Cruise run by the River Street Riverboat Company, we found ourselves sharing a table with two more Floridians, Nathaniel and Mary Forbes, from Tampa. Once again, we were treated more like old friends than strangers that probably will never meet again. It was a great cruise, but all the more so for having such friendly table mates.On the Old Town Trolley we were treated to a tour of some of Savannah’s history. We have to say our driver, tour guide, “Pooky”, not only educated us, but entertained us while she told us about the city’s history. She shared text book history with stories about some of the famous and infamous people who have been visited the city, not to mention a few ghost stories, which seem to abound in Savannah.
Our return flight brought us into the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, which has a rich history of its own. Yes, this northern city also has great food, riverboat cruises and tour guides that share their city’s history. And they all know how to show hospitality.
Still, I think there’s something special about the way they show their hospitality in the south. Whatever it is, it’s contagious. And I can’t wait to someday go back for more.
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