These sort of greetings are usually exchanged by people driving pickup trucks, and along back or gravel roads, and the one-to-two finger greetings are usually seen along unfamiliar roads; not so much in home territory, where the sight of you and your beat-up Ford F250 might be a little more common.
Now that my husband and I have retired to Lancaster County, PA, we tend to wave to little Amish kids in buggies, cows in fields, volunteer firefighters, geese crossing the road, bus drivers, or pretty much anything appearing to need an acknowledgment of its existence. Clothes hanging on the line on wash day often wave back if the wind is right.
In farm country, you wave, because someday a storm is going to come, and if your crop is not in yet, you’re gonna need your neighbors to help.
In cattle country, you don’t wave. You want people to know that there’s no reason to be my friend, if you want some of the beef go to the butcher don’t try to get too close to my cows.
I grew up in the country and waved at everyone because I usually knew them. Now I am in the suburbs and the only people I wave to are the ones who leave a space for me in traffic. As an aside, a few years back a comedian had a bit where he made up words for common situations. One that I made up was Greetgap. This is the distance between two people approaching each other at which one of them is prompted to say hello or wave. Everyone has a different Greetgap setting. The other was Pampaprobeaphobia. The fear of poking a finger into a diaper to see if it is dirty. Cheers!
I've had opportunity to do quite a bit of driving in two major cities this past year and found myself adopting your policy exactly. And Greetgap is a great term.
42 years ago, before my wife and I married, we took our first automobile trip together in a rural area. As I passed the first tractor operator, I encountered I simply gave what was 'natural' to me the two finger steering wheel wave. My soon to be bride, asked what the heck I had just done to receive an acknowledgement from the tractor operator.
I had to explain the rural wave to her.
To this day she is amazed at all the responses I get from rural folk.
It is a courteous gesture and a friendly way of acknowledging hard working folks. (By the way she makes sure she gives a hand wave to rural folks when I apply my subtle wave).
20 years ago the North Dakota Department of Tourism sponsored editorial junkets to drive coverage of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. At the time, I was on a history mag and jumped at the chance. One of the two Tourism folks assigned to take us around was an amiable North Dakotan, who did the two-finger wave at everyone we passed. This being North Dakota, he was in no danger of carpal tunnel damage from overuse, and he always got a wave back. Two of the reporters were from NYC, and finally couldn't take it anymore. "Do you know EVERYBODY?" one asked incredulously. The guide explained it much as you do, with the addition that, this being North Dakota, the salute lubricated the social machinery and inclined passersby to stop and help if you had a breakdown or got stuck because winter arrived on August 12th. I had lived in NYC and understood how this kind of thing violated the Gothamite social contract, but had grown up in the country where it was second-nature. Don't do it much these days as my town has exploded with concealed-carrying ex-Californians who might not realize which finger I lifted and why.
I love your last missive regarding the "two friends talking in the road".
Recently I was with two friends in a car going "yard saleing" over Labor Day Weekend (something that is done up here near my town in the UP during this time especially). I was at the wheel, and it needs to be noted to appreciate this story, that I can be rather talkative to other drivers (unbeknownst to them) when I am behind the wheel. I talk out loud lots more these days as I age anyway. Sorry, digressing. But things like "pick a lane," "does your blinker work?" etc will come flying out as a release presumably (hopefully) for any pent up 'whatevers' in there. But as we are tooling along and we come up on a car that has stopped in the street so the driver can to talk to a lone-standing friend on the road....(stopped facing me IN MY LANE, no less) and even though I am on a mission to get where I am going in an efficient and fairly quickly paced way, I am not the least bit annoyed at this man. It is a very rural town on a very unused street and I approve whole-heartedly of pulling over and talking to a friend. It is easy to go around on this wide street. But I am bemused by my friend in the back seat who is grumping about this situation, albeit light heartedly. I suspect she was surprised, knowing my temperament in general, that I was very unperturbed. Enjoying time with my friends and seeing another enjoying time with his on this holiday weekend was actually balm to my soul. Needless to say, I am a frequent car-puller-over myself whenever I have the occasion to do so; So, I casually went around him. There was no waving however as I was watching the road when I did this since there was another car approaching from the other direction and it seemed more important to keep an eye on the road at that moment. I don't think either of those men were looking at me anyway, they were busy chatting. :)
Sorry for the long rambling comment. I must be in a good mood now that the weather has cooled down. LOL
This is lovely. Thank you for rambling. I also grinned at the part about "talking" to other drivers, which I do far more often and in far sterner terms than anyone outside my closest family and passengers would imagine.
One fingertip off the steering wheel:
A casual greeting to a stranger.
Two fingertips off the steering wheel:
Maybe an acquaintance
Three fingertips off the steering wheel:
Yes, they know you--maybe even like you
A full-hand wave:
Your best friend.
These sort of greetings are usually exchanged by people driving pickup trucks, and along back or gravel roads, and the one-to-two finger greetings are usually seen along unfamiliar roads; not so much in home territory, where the sight of you and your beat-up Ford F250 might be a little more common.
Now that my husband and I have retired to Lancaster County, PA, we tend to wave to little Amish kids in buggies, cows in fields, volunteer firefighters, geese crossing the road, bus drivers, or pretty much anything appearing to need an acknowledgment of its existence. Clothes hanging on the line on wash day often wave back if the wind is right.
The clothes on the line waving! ❤️
Love the wash day image.
In farm country, you wave, because someday a storm is going to come, and if your crop is not in yet, you’re gonna need your neighbors to help.
In cattle country, you don’t wave. You want people to know that there’s no reason to be my friend, if you want some of the beef go to the butcher don’t try to get too close to my cows.
I grew up in the country and waved at everyone because I usually knew them. Now I am in the suburbs and the only people I wave to are the ones who leave a space for me in traffic. As an aside, a few years back a comedian had a bit where he made up words for common situations. One that I made up was Greetgap. This is the distance between two people approaching each other at which one of them is prompted to say hello or wave. Everyone has a different Greetgap setting. The other was Pampaprobeaphobia. The fear of poking a finger into a diaper to see if it is dirty. Cheers!
I've had opportunity to do quite a bit of driving in two major cities this past year and found myself adopting your policy exactly. And Greetgap is a great term.
42 years ago, before my wife and I married, we took our first automobile trip together in a rural area. As I passed the first tractor operator, I encountered I simply gave what was 'natural' to me the two finger steering wheel wave. My soon to be bride, asked what the heck I had just done to receive an acknowledgement from the tractor operator.
I had to explain the rural wave to her.
To this day she is amazed at all the responses I get from rural folk.
It is a courteous gesture and a friendly way of acknowledging hard working folks. (By the way she makes sure she gives a hand wave to rural folks when I apply my subtle wave).
Alas she is a city girl.
Congratulations and a wave to the both of you!
20 years ago the North Dakota Department of Tourism sponsored editorial junkets to drive coverage of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. At the time, I was on a history mag and jumped at the chance. One of the two Tourism folks assigned to take us around was an amiable North Dakotan, who did the two-finger wave at everyone we passed. This being North Dakota, he was in no danger of carpal tunnel damage from overuse, and he always got a wave back. Two of the reporters were from NYC, and finally couldn't take it anymore. "Do you know EVERYBODY?" one asked incredulously. The guide explained it much as you do, with the addition that, this being North Dakota, the salute lubricated the social machinery and inclined passersby to stop and help if you had a breakdown or got stuck because winter arrived on August 12th. I had lived in NYC and understood how this kind of thing violated the Gothamite social contract, but had grown up in the country where it was second-nature. Don't do it much these days as my town has exploded with concealed-carrying ex-Californians who might not realize which finger I lifted and why.
Yah, the times I've driven across North Dakota I've been inclined to wave at everyone including the gophers.
A wave at a neighbor, friend or a stranger is good for the soul.
Sure feels that way.
“Tut, tut child” said the duchess, “everything’s got a moral, if only you can find it”.
I'd be outta business otherwise.
I love your last missive regarding the "two friends talking in the road".
Recently I was with two friends in a car going "yard saleing" over Labor Day Weekend (something that is done up here near my town in the UP during this time especially). I was at the wheel, and it needs to be noted to appreciate this story, that I can be rather talkative to other drivers (unbeknownst to them) when I am behind the wheel. I talk out loud lots more these days as I age anyway. Sorry, digressing. But things like "pick a lane," "does your blinker work?" etc will come flying out as a release presumably (hopefully) for any pent up 'whatevers' in there. But as we are tooling along and we come up on a car that has stopped in the street so the driver can to talk to a lone-standing friend on the road....(stopped facing me IN MY LANE, no less) and even though I am on a mission to get where I am going in an efficient and fairly quickly paced way, I am not the least bit annoyed at this man. It is a very rural town on a very unused street and I approve whole-heartedly of pulling over and talking to a friend. It is easy to go around on this wide street. But I am bemused by my friend in the back seat who is grumping about this situation, albeit light heartedly. I suspect she was surprised, knowing my temperament in general, that I was very unperturbed. Enjoying time with my friends and seeing another enjoying time with his on this holiday weekend was actually balm to my soul. Needless to say, I am a frequent car-puller-over myself whenever I have the occasion to do so; So, I casually went around him. There was no waving however as I was watching the road when I did this since there was another car approaching from the other direction and it seemed more important to keep an eye on the road at that moment. I don't think either of those men were looking at me anyway, they were busy chatting. :)
Sorry for the long rambling comment. I must be in a good mood now that the weather has cooled down. LOL
This is lovely. Thank you for rambling. I also grinned at the part about "talking" to other drivers, which I do far more often and in far sterner terms than anyone outside my closest family and passengers would imagine.