8/2/24 - Friday Forget-Me-Nots by Jim Silcott

Photo Caption: Our new middle school ELA & Religion teacher, Ms. Julia Gualtieri

Dear Our Lady of Peace Family,

The MSL (Major Soccer League) was in town last week for the All-Star game. I work in what is called the West Lobby which is the premium entrance to the stadium. A lot of big wigs of the soccer world came through the doors.

I am nothing but a door man in my job with the Crew. My obligations is to smile, open the door, check tickets and give directions. When the big wigs come through, all I do is smile, and if they make eye contact, say hello. You don’t make conversation with big wigs. They have places to go and people to meet.

In this task, as in my life as a school principal and in my daily interactions with people it is always interesting to see who says hello. For instance, at the stadium it seems that the really important people are very courteous. Most of them probably got where they are partially on their ability to be charming even to the door man. People who have made it, seem relaxed, knowing that the return of a smile means a lot to us little people.

People underneath the big wigs, the assistant big wigs, are usually too busy trying to keep their superiors happy. They usually don’t say anything or make eye contact of any kind. Their focus is on their bosses.

Regular patrons at the stadium are always friendly and return greetings. They are happy to be there. The happiest people are the ones who have been given premium tickets by their company and are in the expensive seats for the first time. Where I usually stand, just outside the lobby door onto the concourse, I can usually spot people who are not sure where they are going. I smile and say, “hello, do you need help with directions?” If it is a couple, it is invariably the female who smiles back and takes me up on my offer. The male, and I am guilty of this myself, doesn’t make eye contact. His mission is to find their seats with no assistance. He wants to push on.

On the bike trail in Licking County, it is considered rude not to say hello to fellow cyclists and walkers. On the Olentangy Trail it is not encouraged. People are more on their guard. Because the Olentangy Trail is very busy, you are supposed to let people know when you are passing them. I say, “Coming on your left please,” and after I pass them I always say, “thank you.” Some Lance Armstrongs out there, shout “On you left!” as if they are giving a command to their pet poodle. Others ring a bell in order to avoid any conversation at all.

When I lived in Bermuda it was expected that before noon you always said, “good morning” to everyone you encountered and subsequently “good afternoon” and “good evening” as the day passed. At Mount Saint Agnes Academy where I worked as the principal, students, faculty and staff were all expected to follow this practice faithfully.

In our country greetings are sporadic at best. Here, when you look a person in the eye and say hello anything can happen. Some will ignore you, and some will return as warm a greeting as they receive. Others seem to be saying hello in their heads, maybe even thinking that we can hear them. I am a good winker and used to do that sometime instead of voicing an hello. Political correctness has pretty much outlawed that practice, hasn’t it.

A simple greeting means that you acknowledge each other as fellow children of God, important even in what is no more than a brief encounter. I make it a habit to practice this everywhere I go. In stores and businesses, I find that, as a senior citizen workers see me coming and wait to see if I am a grumpy old man or a pleasant one. Being proactive and offering a friendly greeting seems to relieve them in our interaction and helps brighten their day.

It can be such an unfriendly world out there, and a smile and greeting goes a long way in uniting us all in the common bonds of our humanity. “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

Jim Silcott