I say hello, and you say..........?

THERE is a man who sweeps my street and the surrounding streets every morning. He always says hello to me and we have a little chat when I’m on my way out to work, which I quite look forward to now (though when I’m late I sometimes worry that the ‘sweeper man’ will disapprove.)

I don’t know his name nor he mine but we’ve gotten into this little routine whereby he’ll check his watch when I come around the corner and shout out whether I’m late or early before adding “have a nice day now, good luck luv” and I’ll holler “same to you, mind yourself” which is nice.

There is another man whom I also pass every single morning on the way to work at the same time but we never speak, not even a nod in recognition. (He looks very like someone else I know you see, so the first time I saw him I gaped open mouthed for almost a full minute like a total lunatic as he walked past me, so maybe that’s what’s putting him off. But I digress!)

This man is an older man, about 45 I’d say, so there’s no romantic interest there, I just wonder if maybe it would be polite to say hello? Or if he thinks I’m weird or rude or on drugs or something which is why HE doesn’t say hello. Friends who are from the country think this situation is particularly weird as in their cities and towns, EVERYONE nods and waves and says hello to EVERYONE. People even salute other drivers even if they don’t know them, they just simply wave hello if they pass them on the road.

So maybe it’s just a Dublin or city thing? I remember reading in the newspaper after September 11th that people in New York, renowned as a phenomenally busy city, had taken to greeting each other on the street and saluting other drivers because of the atrocity that happened there, as they felt life was too short to be brusque or too busy to say hello to your neighbours. They really embraced the ‘small town’ way of life and I think it would be great if that happened here too.

I think I’ll say hello to the man in the street tomorrow, after all what’s the worst that can happen? He already looks at me like I’m mentally unstable, so it can’t get much worse than that!

I’ll keep you posted.

Pic: www.travelblog.org