#34 Say Hello
May 23rd, 2008 by doing better
Being Southerners, it is our nature to smile and say hi to everybody on the street. This does not go over well in other parts of the world.
After many years in exile, we finally learn to appear miserable and guarded in public. When strangers address us, we pretend not to hear. Hailed by acquaintances, we scuttle away to dark corners. Eye contact is a deadly peril. Forced into unwanted greetings, we cling to the trivial. We have a terrible fear of personal questions. How dare they! Americans and Italians are the worst offenders. They might as well ask for a piece of our soul. The British mind their own business. We stick with the British. As we hurry home we stare straight ahead, wishing people would adopt the fashion of wearing blinkers like horses.
Alone in our dwelling, we are desolate and safe. We cannot quite remember what it was like in the days when we used to greet people on the street. Strangers seemed benevolent then, and the world was full of sunshine, but now we know that the enemy is everywhere.