Bill Reid is a man I admire. He is a legend here in Wickliffe for several reasons, not the least of which is that he served as mayor of our town and has also donated hundreds of pints of rare type AB blood to the Red Cross over many decades.
He also became, at some point, the Waving Guy.
Bill used to walk around Wickliffe a lot. Maybe he still does. I'll have to ask the next time I see him at a high school sporting event.
When he would walk, he would wave to each and every passing car. You could count on getting a wave from Bill if you drove past him.
That is not Bill in the photo above, by the way, but he did always have the same friendly smile when he waved.
I used to think this was so funny. Kind of a quirky old guy thing.
Until I started doing it myself.
Now, let it be said that when I'm out walking or running, I only wave at cars I pass on my street (Miller) and the adjoining street (West Miller). I don't do it on other, busier streets in town.
More specifically, I do it when I'm walking/running in the street because there are no sidewalks available. And as much as I intend it as a friendly greeting, it's also a simple acknowledgement of the fact that the passing motorist has seen me and moved over to give me some room.
"Thank you for noticing me and not killing me with your 5,000-pound SUV," is what I'm in effect telling people.
I do the things you're supposed to do when you walk/run on the side of the road, including going against traffic and wearing a yellow reflective vest. Still, you would be surprised how many clueless people speed up Miller and don't notice me until the last second because they're on their phone.
Actually, maybe you wouldn't be surprised.
Either way, I'm grateful to every driver who allows me to live another day. Waving to them is probably the least I can do.
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