Dear Reader,

I know many people have told you that there are 50 states in the United States of America, but are there actually? It seems like only Texas, California, New York, Florida and Hawaii are states. All the ones in between seem to be irrelevant until a tornado takes half of their 50-person population.

But in all reality, the south does, in fact, do it better. I guess Oklahoma can be a part of the south in this context. Southern hospitality. It's a big deal. Not many southerners realize how much they show their “southern" side. Doing things for strangers when they don't have to is one of the biggest parts of southern hospitality. Holding open doors/opening doors, smiling and talking to passer-byes just because they're in your presence are some typical actions of the cliché "southerner."

I've heard a few stories of southerners doing these small reasonable actions in other states and the reactions that they get are unbelievable. "Thank you so much, wow, I appreciate it," were some typical phrases that they did NOT say they heard. Multiple times they were confronted with a “what are you doing? I can open my own door," or something along those lines. Why would someone get mad at someone holding a door for them? Honestly, with all the lazy people in the world I feel like that should be something that is praised. If that was a full-time job, they would get plenty of tips in Texas. We all respect people who do things so lazy people don't have to.

The world is a complex place. So why would you not embrace and use the southern hospitality to its maximum capacity? The south does it better because everyone is polite and considerate to those in need (the lazy).

Yours truly,

Kenneth Leu