The Rituals of Exchanging Greetings

I live in a suburb. Simply put, millions of us folks are scrunched together in close proximity. So, we rub shoulders alot, and the ritual of exchanging hellos or greetings crops up from time to time.

When is it appropriate? When is it not? I swap waves with my immediate neighbor. They retrieve our mail, and we fetch theirs whenever we take our respective vacations. That arrangement works out. The young couple across the street waves and nods. The guy living behind me, ditto. Beyond that, I don't recall being friendly to anybody.

For the sake of this blog, I'm leaving out the workplace. This is about where I live. When I go out on my jaunts, the fellow joggers I encounter regularly speak to me. One older lady is so happy, and she just gushes with her greetings. I like her open attitude.

By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"Nice addition to anyone’s summer beach reading schedule."
Florida Times-Union