A Kiss Hello

"Well, thank you for putting my picture on the wall. I'm like Richard Dawson down there,now.
And everyone is drawing me into this long, tedious conversation and I don't have time for this."

Another one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes is where Kramer liberates Jerry from his world of loneliness and isolation. Kramer suggests the tenants in his building put their name and photo on a wall near the entrance of their complex, so everyone can greet each other by name. Of course, Jerry doesn't like this because all the women are now kissing him hello each time they see him.

While visiting the small town of Lewisburg, West Virginia recently, I quickly recognized how everyone knew each other, said "Hello", and even greeted strangers with a smile and a Hello.
This is obviously uncommon where I live in the suburbs of Chicago, but while visiting West Virginia this was very refreshing.

 Each morning we had our coffee at the Wild Bean Cafe (kind of resembles a Starbucks, but more quaint) where each person that came in knew each other by name and even greeted us visitor's with a Hello.

While in high school, we had a police officer directing traffic after school who was known as Officer Friendly.  It was ironic that this policeman directing traffic, who smiled and waved to every passing car, was aptly named Officer Friendly, because that was his real name. No kidding!

With each passing day while living in a country still filled with economic turmoil, I'm beginning to realize the importance a smile and a friendly Hello to strangers can make.

So, whether your living in Chicago, West Virginia, any small town USA, or in a big city of broad shoulders, a simple smile and a  Hello can go a long ways.

You can make an impact with just a Hello, the West Virginians did it for us.