Southern Hospitality

From the beginning of this trip, I have been most impressed by the people I've met along the way. I loved pedaling through the Louisiana farm country, waving to the people on their porches, stopping to talk to children and little old ladies and the men and boys who were so fascinated by my funny bicycle. Even the "cool" teenage and twenty-something boys and men would wave back (of course, with the cool dudes, it was just one of those half-waves, the "I'm almost too cool to acknowledge you" sort of wave, but it counts.)

However, as we headed through Missouri, I began to notice fewer and fewer people outside enjoying the pleasant weather. And I especially noted a lack of children! The weather was grand, school was out for most of the kids, so where are they hiding? The last couple of days I've noticed another kind of sad phenomena. As I bike, I wave at most everyone I meet, including the passing cars, and in the southern states, 90% of the drivers and passengers wave back. But these last few days, (mostly biking on the Illinois side of the river), I have a tough time getting a wave out of anyone! I think we're down to a20% success rate with cars, considerably better with the people outside working or on the porches.

We are also cycling through more prosperous areas of the country, which makes one wonder, are the kids all inside playing with their game boys, or whatever the current electronic wonder machine is called? For crying out loud, kids, get outside! Ride your bike, go fishing, get some fresh air! Pretty soon you'll be too busy working to play!