In Atlanta...
Judging from the intensity of her gaze at the screen before her, I knew she was somehow involved with the operation. And although she couldn't help me find the right door, or even figure out how to measure mine, she did, in fact, work for Home Depot [corporate]. She had come to New York -- to Long Island -- to study how and why the Westbury store does such brisk business.
I never asked her name, but I learned more from my 30-minute conversation with her about the level of process engineering that is required for proper management of large chain stores, how pervasive bird infestation in warehouse settings across America actually is, and (most importantly for the purposes of this blog), just how different roads and expecations about them are in different parts of the country, than I ever would have imagined possible.
"The traffic in Atlanta metro is comparable to LA"
"On I-75, we have 6 or 8 lanes in each direction."
"I once did a 180 when my car was hydroplaning on the freeway... But it's so wide that I didn't hit anything and just kept going forward afterwards."
"I really just can't get used to the way people drive on the freeway here. They're all just creepin' along!"
"We really live in two very different worlds."
She really hit the nail right on the head. I could tell she was a kindred spirit who appreciated the drastic difference in road quality between I-495 on Long Island and I-75 in northern Georgia. It's a long way from Baldwin to Buckhead. Her observations about the Long Island Expressway, in particular, were quite germaine. As I recall, she used the word, "quaint." FASCINATING!
Smyrna, Sandy Springs, Bolton, Marietta, Fair Oaks, Panthersville, Ben Hill, Panola, Redan, Furniture City.
Yet while I stood in awe of the magnificent expressways she described, like the graceful, girthy arms of a benevolent God, shepherding commuters across the metropole, she seemed just as taken with our rail system. Eh? The Long Island Rattler? I've seen better...
Tomorrow, when she goes to visit her friends in the city, she plans to take it. We'll see how she feels then...
I never asked her name, but I learned more from my 30-minute conversation with her about the level of process engineering that is required for proper management of large chain stores, how pervasive bird infestation in warehouse settings across America actually is, and (most importantly for the purposes of this blog), just how different roads and expecations about them are in different parts of the country, than I ever would have imagined possible.
"The traffic in Atlanta metro is comparable to LA"
"On I-75, we have 6 or 8 lanes in each direction."
"I once did a 180 when my car was hydroplaning on the freeway... But it's so wide that I didn't hit anything and just kept going forward afterwards."
"I really just can't get used to the way people drive on the freeway here. They're all just creepin' along!"
"We really live in two very different worlds."
She really hit the nail right on the head. I could tell she was a kindred spirit who appreciated the drastic difference in road quality between I-495 on Long Island and I-75 in northern Georgia. It's a long way from Baldwin to Buckhead. Her observations about the Long Island Expressway, in particular, were quite germaine. As I recall, she used the word, "quaint." FASCINATING!
Smyrna, Sandy Springs, Bolton, Marietta, Fair Oaks, Panthersville, Ben Hill, Panola, Redan, Furniture City.
Yet while I stood in awe of the magnificent expressways she described, like the graceful, girthy arms of a benevolent God, shepherding commuters across the metropole, she seemed just as taken with our rail system. Eh? The Long Island Rattler? I've seen better...
Tomorrow, when she goes to visit her friends in the city, she plans to take it. We'll see how she feels then...
posted by Matty at 1:46 AM
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