Waving Back

Driving down to my parents' house,
just my son and I,
I thought I'd take a detour
along the way -
he always naps better in the car,
and I always liked getting lost
as a teen at the wanderlust age of 16
just to see if I could find my way back again.

Bobsledding up and down the winding, hilly
narrow track of road
for about 7 miles,
I passed only 3 people
and they all waved back to me,
a statistic unaccomplished anywhere else in my experience -
percentage- or number-wise.

Not that I knew them;
they were all strangers to me.
And not that it was some giant wave -
just the crest of a hand being raised
or the ripple of two fingers
lifted from the steering wheel,
but the tide of them moved me.

As much as I appreciated it,
I found myself wondering,
"What does it really matter mean?
Why do I make this such a big deal?
Is the gentleman getting his mail a better
husband or grandfather than most?
Is the pickup driver a more helpful neighbor?
Is the Taurused lady more cheerful and kind?
Does a wave really signify anything significant at all?"

I still don't know - haven't done any
research and analysis with graphs or charts to show.
All I do know
is it sure feels good to have someone wave back.