The Wave
I learned to drive in a small town. Once I was on the road, I quickly learned that driving around town involved a lot of waving.
What was I supposed to do? Not wave to that friend of a friend of a friend’s uncle I met once at a birthday party when I was seven?
When I go back to Boothbay now, there aren’t many waves. In Brunswick there are none. But I found a place where that tradition exists.
I know one person on North Haven. But for three weeks, everyone I passed on the short drive between the inn and the jobsite waved at me. And I waved right back.
I didn’t realize until then how much I’d missed that.
It’s also a rural thing. When I lived in rural VA when I was young, you always had your hand a 12 o’clock on your steering wheel. Knowing that you would have to flick your fingers skyward with every vehicle that passed you. When you walked down the street, you smiled at everyone, friend or stranger.
My biggest culture shock occurred when we moved to NH. No one waved, and people would look away on the street when you passed. I missed that too. I still make an effort to smile at people I pass when walking. It’s hard to wave in your car in CT, without someone seeing it as an aggressive move. I’m all for the smile and the wave. Lends to a better day.
When I’m out driving around and I see people I know I always wave, that’s what we do. Sometimes I see friends just zeroed in on the road, no acknowledgment, I think, what a weirdo.