The Funny Thing Is...

I really am blessed to have a job that I love. One of my favorite things is when I get to travel to events. Tonight I went to Frankfort for their annual club meeting. The funny thing is, I drive into these meetings and towns sometimes thinking, "Where the heck am I, why is there nothing here, this is so po-dunk." I pull up to these hole-in-the-wall local dives (I only had to turn around once to find this one) named things like "The Office Pub and Grill" that are hardly marked. I walk in and heads turn and look at me like I obviously don't belong there...maybe it's the lost look on my face, the fact I'm the only person under the age of 45, or the box of junk that I am carrying. I quickly judge the pink laminate countertops in the bathroom, the outdated furnishings, and the over the top UK memorabilia all over the walls. Dinner was served on mint green plastic (or acrylic?) divided plates. I didn't know they still made that color in anything kitchen related.

But then a funny thing happens. The owners don't hesitate to put on an apron and set out the food. They are more than accommodating when you need to rearrange. You are served a perfect glass of sweet tea. Someone always says a blessing before everyone eats. And you get REAL mashed potatoes with REAL butter. Home cookin' even when you aren't home (the liver and onions were highly recommended -- I declined and went for chicken). If you are a visitor, your money is no good -- someone always picks up your tab. And offers you seconds on dessert. You learn about people and their families -- how their son is skipping his boy scout meeting to be there tonight and their 5th grade daughter is playing on the 7th grade basketball team. You hear stories about how campus used to be wet, with kegs in the dorms and Sigma Nu Beer Bash, when they went through 120 kegs in 2 hours. How the front half of Two Keys used to be a drug store, and there was no patio. As one alum said, "It could just be the three of us standing here and it would have been crowded." (He was only 18 when he started going to Two Keys...some things never change.) You hear from someone who was actually at the 1957 UK vs. Temple game and witnessed "The Shot" by Vernon Hatton. They always ask where you are from and what your folks do.

The funny thing is, by the time it's over and I leave to go home, I have to pull myself away. It may seem so backwards at first, but sometimes I think they are really on to something. It's a slower pace with southern hospitality. I immediately feel like a friend and neighbor. It's times like this that I really am thankful for my job and feel so blessed that I get to do what I do. I really am lucky, and am especially reminded of that on nights like tonight.

I hope you each feel just as blessed :)

Simply,
MJ