I am in the mountain ski town of McCall, Idaho on a post-Christmas ski vacation with my family and I noticed something today.
I stopped by the grocery store to get a few things for dinner and while there, I was noticing other shoppers-- strangers to me-- kept looking at me. Directly into my eyes.
The first time or two I looked away-- as I probably wondered if I had goop on my face or something. But my shopping partner would've told me.
Then I quickly noticed that people were simply greeting me 'hello' with a quick connection of the eyes and perhaps a subtle head nod or smile. I began to wonder why I looked away and I believe I realized something then.
I am from a "big city" (Portland). Although Northwesterners tend to be more friendly than other areas of the country I've lived in before (Southern California, for example), they still don't necessarily look you in the eyes at the grocery store and nod "hello." "Were they flirting?" "Do they know me?" "Is something wrong with me??"
No! I was experiencing small town friendliness! Perhaps it was the week between Christmas and New Years and everyone still had their holiday joy going on. Or perhaps I did have a gargantuan booger stuck on my face and I was being laughed at.
But I choose to believe I was simply experiencing a phenomenon that only hearty travelers get to experience: Friendly faces in varied places where people aren't too busy or jaded to look a stranger in the eye and nod, "How ya doin'?"
I'm going to bring a little small town back with me the next time I go shopping in my big town.
Here's to looking in your eyes :)
Monday, December 28, 2009
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Your blog was linked on Jeff/Danette's journal. I was intrigued by mushrooms and kept reading through 2009. Hearty amens to all your posts. We are California transplants living in Idaho and love it. Good customer service, getting looked in the eyes, children riding bikes to the fishing hole and fishing all day without a need for Amber alerts, no graffitti, no mushroom-tops (that disgusting California trend of fat girls who show off their bare tummies), no traffic jams, I could go on. But the most impressive part is: Humility and self-sufficiency. Hunting, canning, home-grown organic vegetables, raw milk from the cow, this is common amongst my friends who are all homeschooling moms and practically homesteaders. We once were City Gals but we traded it in so our kids could get looked in the eyes. Hubbies, however, are working like mad men. They did this in Big City also. Except now, there's no commute at the end of a long day. Had to give a hurrah to Idaho-culture. (McCall is within driving distance.) Enjoying your posts. Blog on! (This is first time I ever posted a comment to a blog!)
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