A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....06-22-04....The Fine Art of Waving

Billie

[Billie]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dutchess, Aquamarine ~

A custom of the country: Is it merely a polite gesture?
By Jo'el Freeman

M y husband will wave to anyone. He attributes this tendency to a span of time he spent on a small island off the coast of Rhode Island. There, the only people that didn't wave to you in passing were tourists - and you certainly didn't want to be accused of being one of those. Besides, he feels that waving is an act of goodwill and that even the grumpiest person will feel a little better after being greeted by a hearty wave.

That's why, when we moved from a house in the woods to a house on a main road, we continued our custom of waving whenever a familiar car drove by. A sense of neighborliness required us to do so.

My husband and I take turns standing in front of our house with our second grader as she waits for the school bus. Every day, the same people drive by on their way to work or school. There is the small pink vehicle we call the Barbie car, for example, and the c. 1970s van covered with gray patches of body filler that we refer to as the Hippiemobile. Some drivers give us a big smile and wave like we've known one another all our lives. Others start out tentatively, moving their hand only slightly so that if we don't wave back they can pretend they were only fixing their hair or scratching their forehead.

I understand their hesitation. Unlike my spouse, I can't bring myself to wave to everyone. Once, while we were on one of our exploring jaunts, we found an appealing back road that turned out to be a good shortcut to a lake. We had to slow down considerably to negotiate a sharp curve. Just beyond the bend, we were surprised by an elderly woman sitting in a green lawn chair situated directly on the side of the road. As we passed her, she waved. It turns out she sits there every day and waves to every car that happens to gy by. I have always felt she must be a little eccentric or lonely. But this is reading a lot into the situation, because she looks very contented. Anyway, a part of me fears that people will think I am eccentric if I start waving to every car that goes by our house. After all, I am home a great deal more than my husband is!

You probably would be surprised, though, to discover how many people wave to us first now. Some people accompany the gesture with a toot of their horn, which is the heartiest kind of wave. Friends from town that come to visit us and relax with us on our front porch soon find themselves automatically raising their hand in salute to passersby. I always tell these congenial guests that they have just learned the fine art of waving.

Yesterday I went to the post office. In the lobby, standing in front of me in line, was a man I have waved to almost daily for the past four years. He heard my toddler babbling behind him and turned around to look.

"How you all doing? Boy, this one sure is getting big!" he said to me, smiling at my child.

"She surely is! I have to watch her every minute," I replied.

"I'll bet. Hey, that new deck looks great!"

"Thanks - we love it."

"Well, have a great day - nice seeing you."

"You, too! Bye-bye."

The funny thing is, we had never met before.

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 06-21-04 Military Monday

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

CLICK

[LadyX]

Nan, she truly is beautiful!!

Keep those pictures comin' - -

[MeekOneGOP]

hehe ! Thanks. I love that pic. I wish I could take credit for it, but it's borrowed. :^)

[LadyX]

"Hi, Darks - mebbe by the time yer storm passes,
I'll be through dreamin' about chasin' a rabbit
and get up and wave atcha - -"

ZZZzzzzzzzzz

[LadyX]

"If I can ever catch my tail,
I'll wave it at ya !!!"

[Aquamarine]

Going to town, I'll be sure to wave at everyone...except the construction workers. lol

Your Grandbaby already looks like she's grown some Nan. She's adorable! :)

[lonestar]

I said it before and I'll say it again, "That is one cute puppy!"

Weinie

[LadyX]

"Ha! That kitten is an amateur, jw - -
See how I can wave with both paws?!"

[LadyX]

"Sorry I can't wave at you, Lakeside - -
I'm watching Animal Planet on television,
and might fall off my chair if I do!"

[jwfiv]

Special delivery for Maggie Malone ... )

[lonestar]

Hi, Gert!

You do have the arms for waving.

lonestar told me when she went to the Oiler games at the Astrodome they did "the wave." I told her it sounded more like "the sway!" lonestar told me that my "greeting wave" sounded more like NOISE!

Sometimes I think you can determine IQ by the number of legs a person has--the more the higher!

lonestar has a friend who read that you could determine a dog's IQ by how well they manipulated their owner and said, "Weinie is a genius!"

[LadyX]

(That black cat is what my cat, Binky Boy, looks like.
He has medium long hair and a short bunny tail.)

[LadyX]

"lonestar has a friend who read that you could determine a dog's IQ by how well they manipulated their owner and said, "Weinie is a genius!""

Pet children are like that.
My Binky Boy is a Control Freak, actually, demanding I play doorman so he can go out on "his" screened in porch, and herds me to the correct side of the refrigerator door that then will open like magic and produce his Fancy Feast Du Jour!

[LadyX]

"I'm wavin' my flag at you, Your Honor."

[LadyX]

"If you don't mind, Aqua, I won't get up and wave.
I just got comfy!"

[LadyX]

"I'm tryin' to get this mutt to wave at you so
you'll feature him in a Wednesday Pet Interview...
Sheesh! It'll be a tough one."

[The Thin Man]

waves to every car that happens to gy by

I'm sorry to say that I'll be gone most of the day

Billie, who can blame you? If I was responsible for such an error-plagued presentation, I'd stay away also.

:-)

[Billie]

Below are names of some of our FReepers' loved ones who are serving our country. If you have someone you would like to add, please address a post to Billie; Mama_Bear; Dutchess; Aquamarine, and we will add their name to this list. As we pray for them, we pray also for all our nation’s leaders, and military personnel, and their families and friends. May God hold them close to His heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OhioWfan........................son mystery-ak..........son, husband Gogrammy................grandson Inspectorette...................son Blessed American..........nephew Slip18..........................nephew anniegetyourgun...........nephew Diver Dave.......niece, nephew ConspiracyGuy........2 nephews Pippin..........niece, loved one Pippin...nephew & his fiancee weldgophardline.....brotherinlaw Future Snake Eater..........cousin WaterDragon.............grandson WaterDragon...........son-in-law BeforeISleep...................son kimmie7......................brother Armymarinemom............3 sons american_ranger.............son LadyX.........................grandson fawn796.......................nephew Dubya............................nephew StarCMC......................brother ValerieUSA..................2 sons Lakeside......................2 sons Spruce.....................daughter Philman_36..............2 nephews Warrior Nurse...........active duty SK1 Thurman...........active duty David Osborne.........active duty fc2tomschermuly......active duty bkwells..................active duty LongCut..................active duty cjk............................active duty Trish.......................active duty ODC-GIRL.................active duty AF_Blue..................active duty Notwithstanding.....active duty thumperusn.............active duty Q6-God.....................active duty Q6-God...................twin brother Veloxherc.................active duty

Maigrey................cousin WVNan..............friend's son ladtx....................2 sons Mama_Bear.........2 nephews gator girl............husband severa.......husband, brother Hostel..................cousin MozartLover......son, nephew LBGA........................son katykelly.................son cookcounty..............son SpookBrat...nephew, cousin Doug from Upland...son-in-law Himyar.....................son boxerblues............2 sons the piper...................son sheeza...............husband kemathen7...........husband Tiffee4Bob.......boyfriend deadhead................cousin JimRobinson.....2 nephews TexKat..............son, step-son Rose inRoseBear.cousin's hubby Consort..2 daughters,son-in-law Darheel.....................niece Donaeus...................nephew dixie sass...............nephew BeAllYouCanBe............son Repubmommy...............brother AgThorn...................2 sons homeschoolmama.......nephew kneezles......................son Redhead....step-granddaughter Redhead..step-grdaughter fiance Atomic Conspiracy..half-brother Atomic Conspiracy...nephew Atomic Conspiracy...niece Sunflowergal.........grandson visualops.................cousin Alouette.......................son mrstank.......................husband MrsMike31..................husband

[Billie]

Hey there! Thanks for saying hi! Long time since I've seen you!

[Billie]

I love your post, Johnny Mac. You are a sweetheart! (So glad that Dubya and Laura like our thread too!) :)

[Billie]

Good afternoon, Dave! I wondered which one of you (you or LadyX) would think of the other Waves first with this thread! :)