Saturday, October 07, 2006

I wonder about these things….

The above title came from a friends past post. It made me think of things that l see in our daily lives.
The other day I was thinking about our temperate little town and the way we all wave at each other graciously for pulling in to let others by. The photo shows our single track roads in the surrounding countryside.
I have started to notice and enjoy the different waves of the passing drivers and wonder if they reflect the people that we are? Do you think that waves perhaps are another body language feature revealing our personalities?

Here are some types of waves that l have observed during my motoring meanderings when l pull in to let others pass by.


CHEERY: unpretentious and free - hand usually leaving the steering wheel completely and at a slant

NONCHALANT: a mere thumb or finger raised

SCARY: people who also show too many teeth and later wake you with a stir in the middle of the night. Their palms are always showing, flapping hands side to side ~ a bit like Tony Blair. I mean, lets face it, if you were on a bus with Tony Blair and he smiled over at you as he does wouldn't you get off at the next stop? LOL

SUPERIOR: hand half stuck to the steering wheel and fingers pushed outwards.
Favoured by 4*4 drivers and, if they can manage, a spatter of gravel for added relish.

PASSIVE: could care less- you’re not important to me- slight flick outward of the finger. Similar to NONCHALANT but favoured by young racers who wonder how you have the nerve to be on their road.

IMPERIAL
Two imperial waves
1. The power (Clinton) wave- bless you my child an do you like my Jag? Hand forward, palm showing but no movement side to side.
2. Closely related to this is the Queen wave- ‘thank you, my subjects’ back of hand and slight movement.

FOPPISH: the listless wave- flapping their hand vertically like a child would.

SALUTE: war veteran wave- ‘I thank you sir- that was an operation in driving well done’.

STOP SIGN: hand upright, palm out.

And not forgetting those that refuse to wave (unusual)
They consider themselves better. 'Get out of my way I'm coming through!' attitude. They often throw the head back just a tad. Again with added gravel or debris.

As for me, G. says l'm mostly of the cheery disposition and so give a nice friendly wave. G. does the Clinton (resemblance ends there he says!)

Yes, l do wonder about these things...

12 comments:

Sling said...

I'm of the,"Arm out the window,hand wave above the roof as I pass ilk"..BTW I love whole"Easy tasks won't enhance your skills" philosophy.. :)

HLiza said...

I didn't know you can get so many types of waves! I do notice though some people wave with all their heart: smiling cheerfully, looking at you straight in the eye.. I like that, it shows sincerity and how courteous they are. Some.. actually most will just show their palm without looking at you...sort of a bit snobbish I think!

Susie said...

Too funny! I had no idea there were so many waves and to see your tiny roads! Oh my goodness!
I almost hesitate to put in writing the type of "salute" we see in California drivers...(use your imagination here!)
Seems like a nicer quieter lifestyle where you are!
xoxo

Merle said...

Dear Horizon ~ Those narrow roads are frightening, never mind how you wave.
I hope there is always room to get off a
bit. I hope blogger is treating you better. Thanks for your comments, and I have heard of that film, but didn't think The title is usually the first item of my post. I hope you all enjoyed Daniel's weekend at home. Take care, my friend, Love, Merle.

The Mama said...

These are very good observations on waving. My mom lives in a small town in Wisconsin and I think that we have a lot of the same waves here in the US! I guess waving is an international language!

MissKris said...

I'm a "Howdy Ho, Neighbor!" type of waver. If I see someone waving, I'll wave back -- even if I discover they're not waving at me, haha! Now THAT has happened more times than I'll admit to. I guess I'm just friendly??? ;-)

TJ said...

Cute post and observations!!
Hear is a friendly (((wave)))
and a nice friendly
:-D
PS...that is a golf path not a road...lol!!

Lorraine said...

We have lots of residential streets in our neighborhood that, with all the cars parked on the sides, necessitates the sort of accomodation of which you speak. And more people than not (for the big city) wave...usually something in the Nonchalant line. But I'm thinking the Royal wave would be nice...I have to remember to do that next time.

Bob said...

Just being in the same country as Tony Blair has that effect on me, no wonder most of the armed forces are now over sees, I'd go and join them if I could lay my hands on a Tornado or similar. I like your bit about the waves. Seeing that picture of the single track road with passing places reminds me of when we are on holiday.

Carole Burant said...

LOL loved it! I had never really thought about how people wave...I usually bring up my hand and give a smile! I've noticed how others use their middle finger to wave!!! LOL Ummmm...I do hope some of your roads are wider than this one???? lol Hugs xoxo

Alice said...

Your post on waving coincided with a recollection of my brother's just recently. When I was in my teens and still living on the farm, my brother (who was 4 years younger) and I used to have to cut a trailer load of silage out of a large stack each day to feed the cows. It was fairly hard, smelly work, and as a diversion we used to wave to all the cars that went along the road. If the occupants waved back, we declared that they were "happy souls" and if they didn't, they were not. Of course, the fact that we were working about 100 metres from the road more than likely contributed to some people not seeing us and therefore, not waving .... lol.

Kerri said...

So funny :) Your mind just cracks me up :) I doubt if it ever turns off :) See, I smile all the time when I'm here visiting :)
My hubby likes to wave at everybody, just to see if they'll wave back. When a car is coming toward us he'll say to me, "Are your ready?" And then we'll both wave like we're old friends. Lots of people wave back with puzzled looks on their faces :)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...