Voyage to the world of Coca Cola

This is not a travelogue. I do not write travelogues. This is just an expression of wonder at a forgotten dream that suddenly came true. A dream, that was tucked away somewhere in my being from the year 1999 when I joined Coca Cola as a starry eyed trainee. I had heard that Coca Cola is headquartered at Atlanta, Georgia. And a spark of a desire ignited- the desire to go to Atlanta. This month, two years short of two decades, my desire, my dream came true without any conscious planning or effort from me. It was the usual business trip that made my dream come true.
I voyaged to Atlanta in a 21 hour one stop flight, reaching there on a hot April Sunday afternoon. Too excited to be jet-lagged, I freshened up and took the Atlanta metro downtown. The announcements in the train helped me know when to hop off and the police there helped me know which way to walk. I walked into the hub of tourist attractions and got thoroughly confused about which to enter. I kept multiplying the entry fees to each place by 65 and just could not talk myself into entering anywhere. I just loitered around the area, breathing in the atmosphere, taking selfies sometimes, sometimes requesting total strangers to click my photograph. I went into the Coca Cola store, planning to buy something, but the multiplication by 65 ruined all my purchase plans! It was a fulfilling experience and I returned to the hotel hungry and happy!
My daughter kept telling me to buy some stationery from Target. Since I had three free hours on Monday, I thought I would make the trip. I took a MARTA train and with some help from the MARTA police reached a Target store walkable from the Lindberg station. I looked around and noted that almost everything I reached out to buy was China made. The wifi at Target helped me give my daughter a video tour of the store. I just got some chocolates and came back to the station. I had meant to go back to the hotel, but at a whim I got off at Peachtree and found my way back to downtown Atlanta. I went to the World of Coca Cola. Guess my dreams overrode the multiplication of the entry fees by 65 and I found myself in queue at the doorway. It was the most delightful experience. A museum of Coca Cola ads from all over the world, of Coca Cola point of sales materials, Coca Cola bottles and what not from various points of time. I never imagined that a bottle of coloured sugared water would have so much history! I was mesmerised by all of it. Memories of the days I spent working for this great company flashed across my mind. I wished my colleagues of those days would be with me enjoying this museum of red and white!
I went back to the MARTA station and tried to get rid of all the loose change that I had by buying the tickets. I was lost in the computation and as usual asked for help. A lady at MARTA helped. She added a nickel from her wallet and got me the tickets. I was stunned! I kept asking her how I would pay her back and she replied saying “Just pass this on, help someone else”. I just muttered a thank you, I could not think of anything else to say! I remembered the man I had sat next to while on my way to Target. He had asked me for money to eat and I had refused. I told him I did not have much money on me and I was new to Atlanta. I was scared to help. Scared of being taken advantage of by a man in a foreign land. And here there is a person helping an unknown woman. The kindness of this MARTA policewoman floored me!
I came back to the hotel and noted that the receptionist at the help desk there had changed. She gave me a huge smile and welcomed me back. She had her hair tied in small braids that hung across one side of her face. The other side of her head was clean shaved. I had seen more hairstyles in one and half days in Atlanta than I had seen in four decades!
Human kindness, Coca Cola, hairstyles- my key takeaways from the Atlanta trip. Cheers!