On the rare occasion that I get to know someone new, or, more often, re-connect with someone from a while back, I get all nervous. I feel like I've made so many unfortunate mistakes in relationships of all kinds in the past, especially with women, that even though I have a lot of useful skills and perspectives to help me, I'm still nervous about trusting myself to do whatever is right and healthy for everyone.

But, whatever.

From this delightful piece:

It is a little-known fact New Englanders require Southerners to breed as a part of their lifecycle; without Georgia, all of New England would cease to mate and eventually die. You see, a good solid Connecticut party consists of twenty terrified strangers, clutching wine glasses in glum silence; we do not speak unless spoken to. So there we stand, bumping back and forth like ice cubes in a drink.

But then the Southerner comes in! And thank God! The Southerner, whether she knows people or not, is happy to talk to anyone! The Southerner flits about the room like a bee transferring pollen, inadvertently starting up relationships along the way; couples, finally introduced at last, marry immediately out of sheer gratitude. And thus more New Englanders are born.

Which, you know, that's not quite how it was explained to me, but maybe it's different in, say, Maine.