Good morning!

Before we moved to the Poconos over 10 years ago, we visited often. What I remember the most about those visits is the people in the area. We could drive down any street, in a neighborhood or through town, and people would wave. Better yet, get out of your car and they would say 'hello' or 'good morning'! Coming from a place where people would bump you out of a doorway, grumble under their breath, or give you the finger on the road, we found this behavior very very odd.

It took a while to warm up to the idea that we had to participate as well in this strange tradition. If we didn't, we'd be the oddballs from 'that New York City'. Slowly we began to wave here and there. We only said hello or good morning when someone else said it first. But over time, it grew on us. Became part of a regular routine. Made us feel like a part of the community. I liked it.

The other day I went to a gas station a half hour west of here. "Big city" area, where the population is at least triple of our area. Got out of the car, started to pump, and a man popped his head around the next pump over. "Good morning! How are you today?" After a few minutes of conversation and a 'have a great day!' at the end, I got in the car and smiled. It started my day off on a great note. I remembered why we moved here in the first place. I liked it.

Any time we go back to NY now I try to bring back with me what I've learned here. Of course it's not always received kindly, but 9 times out of 10, I catch people by surprise, and they welcome it. Maybe cranky city folks just need a little good old fashioned kindness. :)

Comments

  1. AngFebruary 21, 2009 at 1:40 PM

    Love it! Hello to you as well. I am from a very small town and I love the feel of a small town.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 22, 2009 at 2:11 PM

    And that is why the Greater New York Metropolitan Area Experiment of 2003-2006 was not successful for me. :)

    ReplyDelete

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