By Shellie Miller
A frequent traveler from a very young age, I’ve had to slow down a bit and concentrate on more local concerns….like kids! When Scott and I took a trip to L.A. a year and a half ago, things were much the same as they had always been. Lines at the ticket counter, lines at the security checkpoint, lines boarding the airplane and lines at the car rental counter. If my Prince Charming was on the phone or plugged into his iPod, hey, I have the gregarious nature that is bred into every Midwesterner, and whatever line I was in, there was usually a friend to make.
But on a trip to Maine a few years ago, I had to chastise myself for falling into the trap of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” that seems to be, sadly, so much a part of our lives here at home. When walking into a restaurant with my beau, two ladies we’d passed sitting on a bench commented, “Good evening! What a nice coat!” Caught by surprise, I quickly thanked them and realized that I hadn’t intended to greet them, having become so conditioned to going about life as though no one shared this giant blue ball but my family and friends. Maybe I just needed a line to wait in, or maybe I was too absorbed by the fact that one misstep could have me flat on my back on the icy sidewalk, but whatever it was, I was incredulous at my out-of-character behavior and have since vowed to treat every person as though they are already my friend.
I do realize that this is a foreign concept to many South Floridians, and for this I am doing my best to make us look good to the rest of the world. I am practically a “cracker” in that I’ve been here since I was 7 but, NEWSFLASH, the majority of Americans do not study their shoes, nails, or book cover (upside down) when someone makes an innocuous statement like, “I just love the colors in your scarf,” or “Wow, I wonder if they’ll be able to board our flight on time,” or “Where does one go in Dallas to get a good pedicure?” The temperatures may be chillier outside of the Sunshine State, but the populace out there makes up for it in affable, welcoming warmth.
With American morale at a precarious place in history, my opinion is each of us needs all of the friends we can get. If someone construes a friendly smile as a danger, then what can be done? More than likely, they will reciprocate and feel a little better about themselves. According to the numbers, there are a lot of worried people sharing our ZIP codes. My personal goal is to make someone feel valued and necessary every day. If you don’t want to jump on my bandwagon, would you at least smile back at me in the line at Publix?