I'm going to Jackson. Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash's voices are in my head. I wondered why Johnny Cash would write a song about going to Mississippi. I went to A School in Meridian, MS in 1994. Now, here I am going to Magee, MS for work. I'm on the plane watching a few episodes of Shameless and I missed half of the Raider/Jets game. Planes are uncomfortable and a rip off. They wanted 26 dollars for internet on the flight. Sometimes corporations make me sick with their focus on profits. But overall after flying hundreds of thousands of miles I'm so tired of travel. I'd rather sleep in my own bed and be with my family. I'll be working for Sempra energy, which is one of those companies I don't even like. I have Socal gas which is owned by Sempra and all they care about is profits.
My first flight was American Airlines from Santa Ana, CA and now flying from Dallas Texas to Jackson Mississippi. It's 8:15 on a Sunday night and the plane is pretty full. There are two young ladies sitting behind me. They didn't know each other before the flight but know some of the same people. Their voices have that country sound and I enjoy it. Women in Orange County tend to think they're real housewives on tv. People in the South many times have this down home realness to them and that country twang is very hot! The lady on the right is tall and wearing some daisy duke shorts. She says she's a Systems administrator and a nerd. Nerdy girls are hot!
When I land in Jackson I have to drive 45 miles to Magee. I'm not prepared and have some anxiety about a new town and new customer. I'll probably be up late but will try and have solid focus this week.
It's now Thursday of the same week. My mind is completely changed from before my trip. I realized I had incorrect preconceived notions of Mississippi based on my first experience in 1994 and my perception. Instead what I experienced was an enormous amount of southern hospitality from everyone. I don't believe met one person who treated me anything but respectful. I was called sir and obscene amount of times. I also encountered many of the most sincere individuals ever. It reminded me of Little Rock Arkansas. I didn't get into town until after 11pm. I went to a convenient store and bought some pepper jack cheese and two hard boiled eggs. I want to be bluntly honest so I'm going to point out when Someone is black or white. Because of the reputation MS has I want to address it rather than pretend it doesn't exist. The guy behind the counter at the convenient store was black and in his mid 20s. He looked like one of the cool kids. In CA he would have probably addressed me "sup". Instead, he said "yes sir" "no sir" "thank you sir". I'm not a sir and never will be. I view everyone as my equal. Whether you are the President or a custodian I respect people until given a reason not too. I was surprised and tried to give the courtesy right back. Then came the Holiday Inn Express in Magee. The lady at the counter didnt have my reservation, which I'm used to. She was white and eating some tater tots. She also used sir and quickly got my reservation fixed.
My first morning I was nervous. About to make my first trip to Sempra and My anxieties were kicking in. What if I fail? What if they think I suck? What if what if... Linda, a black woman is preparing the free breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express. I greet her and she asks me how I'm doing. I tell her great and ask her how she's doing. I look at her name tag and ask "how are you today Linda?" She says she's good and asks me my name. I tell her it's danny and she says to have a good day. I look and there are veggie or cheese omelettes, turkey or port sausage, bacon, biscuits, gravy, muffins, milk, orange juice, etc. i get several omelettes, turkey sausage, bacon, milk, and orange juice. I take it up to my room. Excellent quality, especially for a free hotel breakfast. I eat have some coffee and then off to Sempra.
I arrive at Sempra and take a deep breath before I enter. I enter the front door and the interior door is locked. I wait for someone to walk by and let me in. I can't remember the person's name. My anxieties were kicking in. The person guides me to a conference room where I meet three gentlemen. David and Randy are from Sempra corporate which I didn't know immediately and Herman is the site director. Herman is a large man. Not overweight just tall and country. He instantly reminds me of the netflix tv show Longmire. We begin to go over the plan foe the week and I instantly realize I'm being evaluated. I'm used to it. Companies pay a lot of money for me to visit so they expect the God of whatever product they have to walk through. Since you can't always satisfy people I evaluate myself harshly. I care what they think but I'm never surprised when someone surprises me with a skewed evaluation. David is a quite the gentleman and seems to be of hispanic descent and the only hispanic person I met in Mississippi. while Randy is asking me direct questions he is a white man that seems to be not afraid to be candid and ask tough questions.
We begin our efforts by walking to the control room. In the control room I meet Buster. Buster is a black man and quite quiet. I begin by logging into the system. Throughout the three and a half days I visit multiple remote sites and go up to a camera on a light pole using a man lift. I'm not fond of heights but did my best to not show it. Overall the trip was a success and even felt quite confident at times. I met two very good men in Ricky and Armond. Both were solid guys who take care of their family, do good work, and are so respectful. I can't even count how many times Armond called me sir. We drove by his house at one point. He owns 20 acres and had a nice brick home that he had built and he does his own plumbing and electrical. Both men are black and while I personally don't view people differently based on color they do their best to give black people a good name.
While in Magee I visited a few restaurants. I think my favorite was a chain called Zips. The burgers are really good but the fries are battered and so are the onion rings. The culture there was so family oriented I loved it. Many people came up to greet Herman as you can tell he's widely respected. He has an aura around him that supports the sentiment. Mcallister's is a chain but quality. I had the chicken club on Tuesday with steemed veggies and today I had the chicken club salad with ranch. On Monday we went to Berry's which is a buffet. I had fried catfish, chicken, okra, hush puppies, shrimp. I also had chocolate cream pie and fudge. Oh my! I would be 300+ if I lived in Magee. I also ate at Fernando's where I met two people named Barry. One male and one female. Overall it was a wonderful trip outside of work stresses and I have to say Magee has some wonderful people.
