A Hand Gesture, Welcome

Just got back from a few days in Montana.

Photos to come.

The image that sticks in my mind, though, is more simple and less colorful.

Driving on a gravel and dirt road toward the ranch in the Shields Valley, I'd pass an occasional truck or car.

Each time, the driver raised his/her fingers from the wheel in that ages-old greeting I hadn't seen for many, many years.

"Hi. I see you here on the road with me. I probably know you. You might be a neighbor. But even if I don't know you, I'm comfortable with telling you that I see you here on the road with me. I acknowledge your existence in this simple and pleasant way and I don't even have to think twice about it. I'm not in competition with you and I don't feel threatened by you. So, hi!"

This world still exists. Wow.