11:08:40 PM

The Online Magazine FOR and ABOUT Southside Virginia

3/27/2023

South Winds

(Random thoughts)

The Wave

   I do "The Wave".

   No, not the stadium wave, where the audience stands and throws their hands in the air one after the other. The other wave, where you wave at oncoming drivers.

   Popular in the south, where there seems to be an unwritten rule that all people in pick-up trucks wave. Variations of "The Wave" run from the three-finger wave, where the palm of the hand remains on the wheel, to the full-hand wave about mid-windshield. I do the full-hand wave.

   I started doing "The Wave" years ago, when I had a long commute. It started as something to relieve the boredom. After a few days on my regular route, I started to recognize a few vehicles I would pass about the same time each morning. So I picked a couple at random, and started waving at them as if they were an old friend. Some responded right away. Others took a few days. But, sooner or later they all started to wave back.

   In time, it became such a part of my daily drive, wondering where I'd pass the red Camaro, or the white pick-up with the primer fender. When I didn't see one of them, I felt like something was missing.

   After a while I realized I had developed a barometer for my day. Was I early today, or running late? Was I driving too fast, or was I daydreaming? How about my "Wave Friends"? Were they on time today? What was going on in their world? I would notice things about them. The guy in the pick-up had a new hat. The Mom in the minivan had one less child with her today. Was the other one home sick, or at a friend's house? Or maybe someone was running late, driving too fast, and had a really bad hair day going on. It was not going to be a good Monday for them.

   I wonder if the people I wave to get as much out of it as I do. I hope so. Maybe it gives them something to take them out of themselves for a moment. Maybe they get a small bright spot in their day. Or maybe they just wonder, "who the heck is that?" Do I know them? Should I?

   The next time some stranger waves from a passing car, maybe it IS someone you should know. Someone who just became a part of your life for a moment. Someone making you ask yourself how your life is going today.

   I still do "The Wave". It gives me a sense of connectedness with the rest of the world. It still gives me that barometer of my day.

   I have never met one of my "Wave Friends" in person. Life is funny like that. Perhaps some people are put in our lives only to let us know, or make us ask ourselves, "How am I doing today?�

-= FCOIT =-   

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E-mail:  fcoit@discoversouthside.com