Natchez and Barcelona, Spain.

I was at work upstairs at the Library on Election Day. A man was there trying to use our wireless access with this laptop. He was having difficulty connecting, and we were eventually able to help him successfully connect. (By the way, this free wireless access is another great service provided by your Library that is used frequently, especially by out of town visitors.)

While we were working on his problem, I discovered he was from Spain. Eventually, I asked him what brought him to Natchez. He said he was a journalist from Barcelona, Spain and came to Mississippi to cover the Primary Election. But why Natchez, I asked. He said he had collected all of his information in Jackson. However, he found Jackson a boring city and was looking for someplace more interesting. His quick research told him Natchez was the most interesting place in Mississippi. Isn't that wonderful to hear?

He came first to the Library to write his story and file it with his newspaper. During the course of our conversation, I mentioned that I had lived in Spain as a child. He asked where, and I told him Mallorca. When he finished his work, he thanked us very graciously for all our help. I asked him to please send us a link to his story. And off he went to enjoy Natchez.

Since I only work part time at the Library, I left shortly thereafter. Sometime later that afternoon, he came back looking for me. Fortunately, someone told him exactly where I could be found - on the corner of Pearl and Market holding a Hillary sign - so he found me.

He said he got to thinking about it and decided he had a great story entitled "From Mallorca to Mississippi", and he came to interview me. It's been fifty years since I lived there, and I had to dig deep in my memories to find the information he requested, but he seemed satisfied. While we were talking, Mayor Phillip West walked by, and I introduced him. So he got another interview.

Overall, I think he was quite impressed with our little town. Who knows? When he writes about us, we may get some tourists from Spain!

UPDATE: The article ran in La Vanguardia, the largest daily in Barcelona, and even included a picture of me. If you can read Spanish, here's the link. Otherwise, here's a quote about Natchez:

"...Natchez, the oldest city in Mississippi, which was under Spanish control at the end of the 18th Century. One can still feel the splendor of a time when steamers transported cotton down the river. The impeccable antebellum mansions and the casinos attract the tourists. In this fertile country grow spectacular oak trees and magnolia, the state tree."