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Couple new to town make a habit of waving to everyone
Their non-stop waving seems odd to some residents. "Isn't it interesting that this couple is friendly and people think they are nutty?" asks the mayor. On one recent walk, they offered 45 waves and got 21 wave-backs. (Des Moines Register)
May 12, 2008 | Permalink
Comments
I think it's actually pretty friendly.
Posted by: Naga Please! | May 12, 2008 11:02:10 AM
That's great! Here in Alabama it's commonplace to wave at everybody that you pass on the road. It's just something that you do. I'm glad to see that the good ole Southern hospitality is spreading.
Posted by: twerp | May 12, 2008 11:03:17 AM
Indeed twerp! Even living in NY, I still wave to my neighbors. Silly me, but waving is preferable to the NY sign of hello- the middle finger.
Posted by: CryMeAriver | May 12, 2008 11:09:21 AM
One of my cars is a Jeep. Jeep owners always wave to other Jeep owners. It's a neat thing.
Posted by: troschne | May 12, 2008 11:10:17 AM
Example of a New York Echo:
HELLO!!!!!
SHUT THE F*CK UP!
Posted by: Cherie | May 12, 2008 11:13:03 AM
LOL!!! indeed.
Posted by: CryMeAriver | May 12, 2008 11:17:28 AM
i've lived in iowa, and used to wave to people there. my wave/wave back ratio was damn near 100%. these guys must be some kind of a$$holish to garner that meager return.
Posted by: lester | May 12, 2008 11:17:46 AM
NY gets such a bad rap. The difference between NY and Perry, Iowa is that a) if everyone waved to one another in NY their arm would fall off and b) people in NY actually have important work to do.
Since I moved to FL I do a lot more waving and a lot less work.
Posted by: G-Man | May 12, 2008 11:20:09 AM
"'In my former life, I was a marriage and family counselor,' she said"
Did anyone else notice that this person was reincarnated and remembered what she was in a past life?
Posted by: Nathan Ridge | May 12, 2008 11:20:14 AM
I like the wave chart in the article's sidebar (Queen Elizabeth's lightbulb wave, the Pope's wave, surfer's Hang 10). But they forgot the "Beauty Queen" wave (hand flat, only turn wrist), the "Little Kid" wave (done with your entire arm while jumping excitedly up and down) and the "New York/New Jersey" wave (the middle finger)!
Posted by: Phranqlin | May 12, 2008 11:23:00 AM
Oh please, G-man. NYers south of Albany all tend to be a bit on the defensive/agressive/give me a happy pill side. And how in the hell can you say you work less now because you wave more? Oh wait, must be terribly difficult driving a golf-cart clutching your nine iron while trying to putter along...my bad :o)
Posted by: CryMeAriver | May 12, 2008 11:24:18 AM
all righty then!!!
Posted by: AngrySockMonkey | May 12, 2008 11:25:30 AM
They should have taught me to do the motorcycle wave when I went through my class. All the bikers wave at each other. The down side of being a girl on a bike, though, is all the honking. It's very distracting.
Posted by: lld | May 12, 2008 11:28:44 AM
I moved to South Georgia 12 years ago and was not used to everybody waving. It is a great and easy habit to pick up. Of course in the small-town south you have to have the hand on top of the steering wheel, lift the pointer finger wave to every car you pass.
When I visit back up North, people do look at ya funny when you wave, or even speak to strangers in the store. You can say a lot of bad things about the South if ya want too, but not bein' neighborly isn't one of them.
Posted by: jojo | May 12, 2008 11:37:29 AM
OH, I almost forgot! As much as being friendly is a good thing, those two look kinda freaky. They look like their parents were cousins...they just have an odd look. I think the people who don't wave are just afraid that if they do, these two will come over to chat for a few hours! Just an observation!
Posted by: jojo | May 12, 2008 11:40:07 AM
tools
Posted by: Dr. Mary Pat Jordan | May 12, 2008 11:41:41 AM
Cry - I wish I were retired playing golf but I still work. :-)
Seriously though when I moved down here a number of people I knew who had worked in both NYC and Florida warned me that people work at a slower pace here and it's absolutely true. The heat must kill the brain cells. I think I just heard another one of mine sizzle and pop.
Posted by: G-Man | May 12, 2008 11:44:23 AM
I'm calling no wavebacks.
It always sort of freaks me out when I'm on Vacation, usually summer on a little island in Maine, the first few times someone waves at me I assume they're just fcuking with me as that is generally what a wave preambles where I live.
Posted by: sometimesilie | May 12, 2008 12:06:46 PM
G-Man is dead on. We moved to FL from CT and at my first job a fellow manager asked me "How many hours of work a day did your staff do up north? " I relpied 8; she said "you'll be lucky to get 5 out of anyone here". Work here is a very slow pace. And almost everyone waves. And waitresses call you "hun"
Posted by: jupiterjim | May 12, 2008 12:08:02 PM
jojo, I know what you mean about the steering wheel thing, we do that in my part of Alabama. I was thinking about typing about it in my earlier post but I thought people would think it's too weird but it's not! It's the norm around here. When in Rome...anyways, that goes for linguistics too. People may think people in the South talk funny or incorrectly but that's the norm here and it's not incorrect if it's the norm. Same for NYC, people in the South think it's weird that people in NYC don't talk to everbody or wave...but that's the norm there and it's the "correct" thing to do up there or not to do...anyways, it's the correct way to act. It just depends on where you are and what you're all about. Everybody has their impact on the community--some are just a little more outstanding than others, like these wavers. I know in our town there was a cute little old guy who would ride his tricycle wherever he needed to go in town. That was his thing and people look forward to seeing him, it puts smiles on people's faces. This waving is this couple's thing. I remember somebody else on this forum talking about people having their "things." I'm not sure who it was but that person stated that it's ULTRA's thing to type in all caps. That's the way ULTRA is making his/her impact on this particular community and it makes me grin whenever I see ULTRA's postings. Dick Tater's thing is to be an A$$hole and I look forward to his comments even though they're rude, it's comical. This waving couple has their thing in Iowa and there's nothing wrong with it.
Posted by: twerp | May 12, 2008 12:20:51 PM
*waves*
Posted by: CryMeAriver | May 12, 2008 12:26:23 PM
MUST BE A NEW PERVERSION. HAVE TO CHECK IT OUT.
Posted by: ULTRA | May 12, 2008 12:38:21 PM
Where I'm at, it's become split between oldtimers and newcomers. Despite my age, I count as an oldtimer. Waving to other oldtimers (who you can pretty much recognize on sight, even if you don't know the individual personally) is de rigueur, as is holding open the door to the elderly or women, whom you then let enter first. (Other men, meh, you just hold the door 'til they can grab it.) If you make eye contact with someone, you just say, "Hello." The newcomers don't behave in accordance with the town's norm, and it just sort of ticks a lot of the oldtimers off.
Perhaps that's what's going on with the newbies in the article. Folks thereabouts seem like they don't wave, and they don't appreciate newcomers trying to foist a different set of manners onto them.
Hmm, maybe this is a long-winded way of recapping twerp's point.
Posted by: outofsalt | May 12, 2008 12:40:09 PM
I take the Cygnet for a walk in his stroller in our neighborhood almost daily. I usually wave to people passing in their cars. This is going to sound weird, but one of the reasons I do it is for self preservation. I like to think it keeps people from being too absorbed in their cell phones and what not to run us over next time we're out.
Posted by: Swangirl | May 12, 2008 12:50:59 PM
Some people in Maine will wave at you if they are walking down the road but it does not happen often. I've had it happen maybe six or seven times in the past year and each time it has it has always been out on the coast in a small town.
I normally don't wave back at people I don't know though. Just like the boating TV spot where everyone freaks out at being waved at until they are in their boat and then all the boaters wave at each other.
As for motorcycle riders. In Maine the Harley type guys will not wave at the guys that ride rice rockets which I find amusing. Even if a rice rocket guy waves the Harley guy will ignore him.
WAVES!!!
Posted by: The Asshole Guy | May 12, 2008 1:01:55 PM
