This week two instances reminded me why I love my adopted home.
I wasn’t born in the South, but I got here as fast as I could.
So did a group of six friends from the northern half of the United States. They came through Vicksburg on their journey from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean.
That’s right, the Arctic Ocean.
I’ve seen many people come down the Mississippi River in all sorts of floating contraptions, but this was a first for me to encounter anyone traveling upriver without a motor of some sort. They aren’t exactly the stereotypical people traversing the mighty Mississippi. They were figuratively and literally going against the current.
All outdoorsmen, the group including a soil scientist, behavior interventionist, an anthropologist and environmental historian. The northerners were amazed at the generosity and hospitality of the folks they encountered along their journey.
They said if they had known what kind of people southerners were they would have made the trip sooner. They got here as soon as they could though.
My son, who was born in the South, was with me when I interviewed the group and I was glad he could hear how other Americans felt about his home.
Another instance reinforced what the northerners had come to know. Last Sunday I wrote my column about a mathematical formula for calculating wind chill and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about it being published. I was fairly certain I had written the formula down correctly but I didn’t study math in college.
Daniel Topa, a mathematician with ERDC, took the time to send me an email and let me know that indeed I had the formula correct.
Although I hesitated when reading his email until I got to the part where he told me it was right. Daniel took the formula and put it into an Excel spreadsheet that I can use whenever the need arises. I only have to input the temperature and find the appropriate wind speed to find what the temperature will feel like.
It’s comforting to live in a place where kindness is the norm and hospitality is extended daily.
I don’t know if Daniel is from the South or not, but he fits right in.
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Paul Barry is the managing editor and can be reached by email at paul.barry@vicksburgpost.com or by phone at 601-636-4545 ext. 123