AT HOME WITH KAYLA PRICE 2/17: The ‘Sulphur Springs Wave’

While leaving my house for work recently, I noticed my neighbor was also leaving, so I waved.  I have no idea who was in the vehicle as the tint made the contents of the cab far too dark to even see if there was a driver!

A few yards down the road another neighbor, one whom I have never met, was also leaving their house.  I waved.

At that point, I smiled to myself.  Growing up, my dad would wave at passing cars as he drove our family of four around town.  My mom would often ask, “Who was that?”  My dad would reply, “I don’t know.”  I learned very young that when you meet someone, you acknowledge them.  A smile while passing a stranger on the sidewalk or a wave from one vehicle to another is simply a greeting.

When I moved to Ohio for grad school back in my 20s, I was warned that folks don’t smile at you on the sidewalk up there.   The warning was true, at least back then.  I thought it was ridiculous, so I smiled, I waved, I acknowledged.  They may have all thought that I was the campus loon, but, being a good southerner, I had to acknowledge folks.

These days, we send a wave to new Facebook friends.  I never do that because I don’t want my new friends to think that my account has been hacked.  Maybe I should be more southern with my technology!

My mom used to do the “low Sulphur Springs wave” sometimes while being silly.  I thought it was something she had made up until I heard Forrest Gregg mention it at a Chamber banquet one year.  If you want to read more about that particular wave, you can read about it at The Low Sulphur Springs’ Wave – At Home With Kayla Price

Maybe my use of a wave (and even a smile) is dated, but I want to continue to acknowledge people as I see them, whether I know them or not.  It is a small, simple gesture that might mean something to someone having a bad day.