Could I please have the gumbo and a mint julep?" I asked the waitress in a downtown Atlanta cafe.
In April 2009, I attended an international conference in Georgia, in the heart of the United States' deep south.
When travelling, I like to sample the local cuisine.
I had previously been to Atlanta during my sabbatical leave in 1987, and not a lot had changed by 2009. It is the largest city in the southern US. With just under six million people, it is larger than Sydney.
Traditionally, its politics have been deeply conservative, and during the American Civil War, it was the ideological and economic heart of the old confederacy. The Gone with the Wind legacy is still evident.
In 2021, Atlanta is prosperous, but it is on the fringe of the US economy. The civil war's victorious north is still the country's economic engine room, particularly cities such as Chicago and New York, are major drivers of US capitalism. In the south, it is a different story.
Despite its huge population, Atlanta is headquarters to only four Fortune 500 companies, including Coca-Cola and CNN.
This stark economic and social contrast between the victorious and the defeated states of the civil war is still a mainspring of deep division in US politics.
The more sophisticated northern and eastern urban economies mainly vote Democrat, and the conservative rural economies of the south and west mostly vote Republican.
The shadow of the old confederacy lingers.
However, as the "sunbelt" cities of the south undergo rapid growth, they become more cosmopolitan, reflected in their voting patterns. In last year's presidential election, three of the previous conservative Republican states in the south and west flipped to the Democrats, delivering them 33 extra Electoral College votes. This included 16 from Georgia, which made a significant contribution to Joe Biden's victory.
Now, two months after the American elections, the critical US Senate race is not over. This month, Georgia, which is dominated by cosmopolitan Atlanta, will vote for the two US senators to represent their state.
The term of one of the senators from Georgia has just ended, but the second senator retired part-way through his six-year tenure, because of ill-health.
There was a big field for these two senate vacancies in the November poll, and no candidate received more than 50 per cent of the vote.
Consequently, there will be a "runoff "election this week between the two leading Democrats and the two leading Republican candidates, to resolve this impasse.
The senate positions will go to the two who gain the highest votes.
The outcome of this ballot will dramatically affect the success or otherwise of a Joe Biden presidency.
Why?
All laws must pass both houses of the Congress and be signed off by the President. During the eight-year term of Democrat president Barack Obama, his agenda was consistently frustrated by the Republican-controlled senate voting down his crucial legislation.
This month, the control of the US Senate hangs in the balance and will be determined by the Georgia runoff outcome.
Following the November 2020 election, the Republicans hold 50 seats and the Democrats have 48. Suppose the Republicans win even one of the two senate seats in Georgia. In that case, they will control the US Senate, 51 - 49, and the new Biden administration's agenda will also be frustrated. However, if the Democrats win both seats, the score will be 50-50, and the President will get all his legislation through. How?
The President of the Senate has the casting vote and will always follow what the American President wants. This is because the Vice-President of the United States is also concurrently, the President of the Senate. This is just one of the many quirks of the US Constitution.
In 2021, the US stands at a critical crossroad, domestically and internationally. It will take strong, decisive central government in Washington during Joe Biden's first term, to extricate the country from the four years of domestic and international chaos delivered by Donald Trump's policies.
This month, it all comes down to Georgia's voters, particularly the citizens of Atlanta.
Will they flip again, and elect two Democrat senators? A lot is riding on this very tight election race.
With control of the presidency, the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Biden administration will respond more sensibly to COVID-19 and guide the US swiftly out of recession.
America will also be able to rebuild the necessary alliances to contain growing Chinese influence and lead the world response to global warming.
History can often turn on a dime.
What seems to be a minor election in a remote state of the US may change the course of world history.
That's why this January, Georgia will be very much on the mind of the incoming US President.
It could mean make or break for Joe Biden, the US and perhaps the world.
