I do not know if this is just a southern thing or if it is a suburbia thing, or if it is a cultural thing but I would like to get every ones opinion on “the wave”. What is “the wave”? The wave is what you do when you are driving or walking and you wave at a unknowing and unrelated person driving or walking pass you. Okay, It is not an all out how you doing wave but it is nonetheless an “hey there person on the road that I don’t know but i am nice so I am speaking to you wave”. Now its not that I have a problem with “the wave” but what happens when the wave is not returned or worst is returned with the “stank eye”? Does it even matter? Well from my perspective it does. I believe that if a person gives you “the wave” it is only right that you return the courtesy. Now I have visited cities in the Northern part of the U.S. and I think they have figured out this problem for themselves. THEY JUST DON’T DO IT! That’s right there is no waving so there are no hurt feelings. Nobody speaks, nods their head, gives the hello eye contact, or wave as you pass by. Now this works for places up north but in the south it is part of the cultural fabric to wave, speak, nod your head, or sometimes all of the above in some sequence.

Well I did my social or should I say southern dilegence today and I gave a person walking by “the wave” but I did not so much as get a nod in return. Instead I got the “stank eye”. You know the look that asks why did you wave at me and never do it again. I thought I was just doing my part to keep the wheels of peace and balance on the earth spinning but I was mistaken today. Could it be that I am all wrong on this wave thing? Maybe people really don’t like to wave in the first place but they tolerate it from southerners. I don’t know the answer but I believe that from now on I will play it safe and wait for the initial wave before I display my wave in a public manner. This will at least ensure I am on the good side of the “return wave” because the last thing anyone wants these days is to feel like their generous southern wave has been returned with a notorious “stank eye”. I obviously need to venture up north a lot more were there is not so much pressure to be nice to people you don’t even know. This is just my perspective on “the wave”. What does everyone else think?

As I was driving to work this morning I found myself stuck behind a car that kept weaving from side to side. At first I thought the guy was drunk but as soon as I began to pass him I realized he was not drinking but talking on his cell phone. I am sure that many of you have experienced this before and like me you probably thought to yourself, “get off of that cell phone and drive already”.  The cell phone is 30 years old can you believe it? The first commercial mobile phone service was launched in Japan by NTT in 1978. By November 2007, the total number of mobile phone subscriptions in the world had reached 3.3 billion, or half of the human population (although some users have multiple subscriptions, or inactive subscriptions), which also makes the mobile phone the most widely spread technology and the most common gadget in the world. Many states have laws against driving with your cell phone glued to your ear but unfortunately NC’s law will not go into effect until later this year. This will be great for all of us who just want to get where we are going without being held up by those pesky cell phone addicts who can’t seem to go 1 hour without their cell phone fix. How sad is that right? Hold a sec, I really have to take this call…

Just putting it all in perspective….

Juliette