Here's the deal. I always thought I lived in "the South."
Nope.
This is Little Rock. This is part of the South.
The Capital Hotel. True Southern hospitality from every direction. I kind of didn't want to leave. Not just in the hotel, but EVERYWHERE we went, people spoke to us. They spoke genuinely. They acted truly interested in where we came from and why we were there. Nearly every conversation ended with a coincidence of some kind. "Oh, I went to school there, too!" -or- "I have cousins that live in 'rural town' 15 miles from there!" "No way, my brother was Pistol Pete, too!"
Generally, I am the kind of person who doesn't like chit chat and distractions, but this was different. At every turn, there were helpful people, there were kind people, there were people with no agenda, I didn't feel judged wearing jeans in a fine restaurant. It was all in all a lovely long weekend.
As would be expected in any city with a Presidential Library, we visited the Clinton Presidential Library. It was the first one I have ever visited, and it was thoroughly interesting. I won't post all the pictures I took, but the people working there told some of the most intriguing stories. One of the staff members told of a recent trip to Texas and how they were able to visit all three Presidential libraries in that state. They spoke very kindly and generously about each individual library, and they mentioned the high points and specifics about each one that made me want to catch the next plane to central Texas and visit all three.
This relatively small blue box was difficult to photograph, maybe you can see the shelving in the reflection, but these boxes hold all of the documents and whatever other records there are relating to the President's time in office. There are thousands of them, and we saw something like 3% of the total. We saw them built into every pillar on this floor. Hard to imagine.
There were lots of handwritten letters to the Clintons. I saw one from Mother Teresa, some from U.S. celebrities, Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and this one from Queen Noor.
I am a big Queen Noor fan.
We were allowed to goof around in the Cabinet Meeting Room. Each chair had a small engraved plate on the back that told which Secretary sat in each chair. I just wanted to belly up to the table.
After our lovely weekend, we were headed home, and that is not a direct flight. So while at the big hub airport, and I am not kidding, we had been on the ground less than 5 minutes, and my "excuse me" and, "oh, I'm sorry," were met with *silence* and some sort of grunt. Okay.... welcome back to "not the South."
I have decided to try and act more like I was treated in the South. It would be nice if I was already treating others that nicely anyway, but I am going to make extra effort -- and if I get kicked in the teeth by rude people, so be it.
