The roads
in Hawaii are mostly two-lane.
We were
on vacation, driving from Kailua-Kona to Hilo, when the car behind us wanted to
pass. We slowed
down and pulled to the right to give the car lots of room to pass. After the car passed us, the driver stuck his
arm out the window and gesticulated at us.
What was
that? Was he mocking us?
The driver had extended his thumb and his pinkie and
had curled his middle three fingers to his palm. And he shook his hand. I started to get annoyed, but then I
remembered something I read in a travel book about how Hawaiians use a certain
gesture as a way of saying thank you.
The guy
who passed us was giving us a Hawaiian thank-you wave.
St. Louis
has a thank-you wave. You simply extend
all five fingers into a flat palm and move it right and left, like a windshield
wiper. The Hawaiian wave is more
dramatic, probably because you can drive with your car windows open all year
round in Hawaii.
I like
being courteous to my fellow drivers in St. Louis. And I like to have my courtesy acknowledged,
but I only get a thank-you wave about fifty per cent of the time.
Every
morning when I drive to work, I get an opportunity to be courteous. There is a Mobil On-The-Run convenience store
at a busy intersection. If the light is
red and there are six cars waiting for the light to change, the entrance to the
On-The-Run will be blocked by the sixth car.
People who just bought their gas, coffee, or breakfast cannot leave the
On-The-Run.
Unless
the sixth car is me. If I see five cars
waiting for a red light, I will stop early so there is a big gap between the
fifth car and me. That way people can
drive into or out of the On-The-Run.
Many
people recognize my act of courtesy.
They wave their hand at me as they drive through the gap I created. One driver, however, was busy consuming his breakfast
as he drove, so he waved his breakfast as me: a 16-ounce can of Bud Light.
- . - .- . - . - .
A favorite Bud Light commercial: "The Clothing Drive":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8znLXlD33No
- . - .- . - . - .
NOTE: Doug's best stories have been collected into a book: Puppy Out Of Breath. Price = $11. You can purchase a copy at http://www.puppyoutofbreath.com
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