Even as a child I’d always been one for waving at people as I walked by. But as I got older and people didn’t wave back I changed my approach to giving smiling eye contact and a nod as I walked by. (Then, if I didn’t get a little nod back it wouldn’t be quite as embarrassing to be ignored.)
But then I moved to Asheville, NC. Feeling my inner child bubbling up, I went back to my childhood walk and wave and when I did I got about a 90% hit rate on wave backs. And if I gave the smiling eye contact, what do you think happened? I’d get a wave back! What? I just gave the old head nod and they actually were courageous enough to put their hand in the air and put it in motion. Then I’m driving through our neighborhood and two pre-teen girls playing in their driveway gave me the peace sign and, OF COURSE, I gave it right back with a smile, a nod AND a little wave of the two fingers to boot.
Did I just walk into being pleasant heaven or did I join a club that I am not aware of? Come on. Adopt this. Feel the warmth as you spread the love one wave or smiling nod at a time.
Hi Michelle, I love your blog on waving. We moved here from Fla in 2000 and for awhile we lived in an over 55 development in Etowah, which is a suburb of Hendersonville and Asheville. Every time we went out of our house people waved, whether we were going to our mailbox, to the store, mowing the grass, whatever. We had never experienced anything like it. We moved but still people wave like you say, only not as much as they did in Etowah.