Waving to people in old-time Phoenix


I've always waved to people. I don't know if it's me, or it's my midwestern upbringing (I grew up in Minneapolis) but I just love to wave. I wave to the neighbors, I wave to dogs passing by. I just like to wave, and today I'm thinking of waving in old-time Phoenix.

Or to be more specific, making hand gestures to people, which of course includes waving. If we time-traveled back to 1912, we might confuse a lot of people with certain hand gestures, and movements.

Now calm down here, I'm not going to mention THAT hand gesture. Everybody who has ever driven in Phoenix knows that one, and if they haven't given it, they've received it. Of course, that would have been meaningless in old-time Phoenix. I suppose if someone cut me off with their buckboard I could shake my fist. They would understand that. That would be if I made a fist with my knuckles turned towards them, and shook it. If I made a fist with my knuckles facing myself, and didn't shake it, we would have to wait quite a while until they understood "Power to the People".

Speaking of which, I often see the peace sign, even in modern Phoenix. Of course it was popular back in the 1970s, when I first moved there, but there would have been some confusion among the old-timers as to whether it meant Victory or Peace. I like seeing it. Of course, turned around it's very offensive, but as far as I know only in England. But I still wouldn't do it.

Something that would have been understood in old-time Phoenix would have been the thumbs up, which you could give to someone who had a particularly beautiful horse and saddle. Of course you could do the thumbs down if someone was trying to sell you a swayback. My scuba diving friends tell me that thumbs up in the water means "go to the surface", but I can't imagine any confusion on Washington Street in Phoenix.

I'm inclined to believe that the "Queen of England wave" would have been recognizable back then, which is just a swaying and tilting of the hand as you ride by in your carriage. Personally, I prefer the palm wave, which is just using the whole hand, cocked slightly, and moving the elbow. I'm inclined to be a little goofy, and sometimes I wiggle my fingers when I wave.

Let's see, what else? Well, you could do the Vulcan "Live Long and Prosper", but that would be just weird. And while there would have been cameras around in old-time Phoenix, I really can't imagine doing "rabbit ears" behind someone's head. I used to live in California, and I saw a lot of the "hang loose" gesture, which would probably make people think that there was just something wrong with your hand. You could flash "I love you" in sign language, but I really don't think most people would get that. I really don't know. What am I missing?

Of course the perfect compliment to the wave is the smile, which never goes out of style!
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