What a difference a short plane ride can make.
I went to Brownsville a week ago for a conference and found some contrasts between here and there. Prices were lower, the sun was warmer and 99.9 percent of the people were bilingual.
Seriously, the warmth of the reception given to visitors was amazing. Our requests were met with grace and warmth and nothing was "too much trouble."
Longview has taken great strides in making its "front line" people — clerks, table servers, greeters — aware of customer service and improvements have been duly noted. However, experience is the best teacher and a taste of hospitality at the southern tip of Texas is hard to beat. This despite the fact that the Valley is experiencing a harsher version of the current recession than we are.
I had a nice surprise waiting for me on the flight home, as well. A young woman and I were having a pleasant conversation about her master's studies in theology when she asked ifBrownsville was my home.
I told her my home was in the Waco area and she responded: "Oh, do you know where Marlin is? That's where my mom's from."
Of course, I replied, it's my hometown and my parents still live there.
Her mother was seated behind me and I turned to her and said, "I'm one of the Pecina girls."
She certainly recognized the name and that started a lively conversation peppered with questions about graduation years and "did you knows?"
When we first married, my husband Paul teased me a lot about my huge extended family.
"No matter where we go, you have family there," he would say.
As the years went on, the teasing lessened but I've found that for being from such a small town, I often find a Marlin connection — relative or not — in the most unexpected places.
And it's always fun.
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Speaking of hard economic realities, more people are in need this year than the past, including right here at home.
I hope you are one of the many generous folk who have already registered for National Family Volunteer Day activities on Nov. 21.
Always the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the event seeks to allow volunteers of all ages to work together to help meet community needs.
Since its 2006 debut here, the effort has grown from 330 or so volunteers to almost 450 in 2008.
It's been the News-Journal's privilege to organize the event since it began in Longview and we are very excited about its continued growth — both in numbers of volunteers and in the number of agencies that get help.
The last day to sign up for duty is Nov. 18. Volunteers are still needed to help with a number of projects, but the most slots yet to be filled are with East Texas Literacy Council, Longview Community Ministries and Windridge Therapeutic Equestrian Center.
I've been a volunteer each year, along with my husband and granddaughters, and it's been eye-opening and fun. This year, we'll be joined by our daughter and son-in-law, brand new veterans of the U.S. Army, speaking of volunteers.
If you've been part of this special day in the past and are looking for some different duties, there are a few new agencies on this year's list.
If you have questions, look for the Volunteer Day ad in today's newspaper or call Erin Suttin-Hassell at (903) 237-7776.
See you on the 21st.
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It was heartbreaking to witness the anguish on the faces of the people at Fort Hood following Thursday's shooting. Though most of us can't go there to offer our sympathy there are other ways to show support.
Right here at home, military families are struggling with the stress of deployment or loss. Children are missing parents and spouses are trying to make ends meet.
Veterans are in search of training and jobs, and deployed men and women are missing the comforts of home.
In the ensuing weeks, we will have opportunities to make their burdens a little easier to bear. In caring for the soldiers and veterans among us, we also pay tribute to their fallen comrades.
Ana Pecina Walker is editor of the Longview News-Journal.
