The Country Wave

The kids are out of school, Father's Day has just past and the days have just now begun to get shorter. Our garden is totally planted and we are enjoying spring greens and peas. As we drive down the road with our car windows open, the delicious fragrance of wild roses saturates the air. Summer has arrived.

One of the little things I enjoy about living where we do is the "country wave". Being relatively distant from most everything means that folks in our community spend a good deal of time behind the wheel. With this comes the familiarity of our neighbors vehicles. And, with that, comes the "country wave", a form of greeting not taken lightly in our neck of the woods.

Between having my head in the clouds half the time and needing a pair of specs to see things in the distance, I am often reprised for my occasional lack of acknowledgment when I'm driving. Last week, out of the blue, I was asked if I was having a bad day by one of my neighbors. I replied that I seldom have a bad day and asked "why"? The reply was that I hadn't waved at them as they passed earlier in the day.

While driving around town, I have learned to bring my brain out of the clouds long enough to focus on both the vehicle approaching me, then the face behind the windshield to see if I need to wave. Some people avoid this issue by just waving at everyone.

Now, folks have different types of acknowledgment as they drive by; sometimes you have to look carefully for the two fingers just slightly raised from the curve of the steering wheel. Other times, there's a full-on salute, arm out the window wave. Depending on how well you know the person in the other vehicle, the type of wave can also be indicative of their state of well being. And, if you don't inquire next time you see them, some view it as an insult and get indignant.

Most of the time however, the "country wave" is a salute to the kinship that evolves from living in rural America and to our local relationships no matter how familiar our neighbors may be. It's a tie that binds us and celebrates our connection to our friends and our community and, for this, we are most grateful.

So, while we haven't posted a Blog in a while; this is our "country wave" to you. We hope that you are enjoying the beginning of summer, looking forward to celebrating our country's birthday in the next week and have some form of relaxation planned in the months ahead.