Greetings

I have been really busy lately and a bit under-inspired so I haven't been able to post in several weeks. In fact, when I signed in I was afraid this blog was going to be taken down due to inactivity, but such was not the case and here we are.

Something happened to me this morning whilst walking Jake - and this happens pretty often. Someone that walked past me greeted me with a "morning" (yes, some people in Chicago do actually acknowledge one another - but to her credit, she was a neighbor and somewhat familiar). Anyway, it got me wondering when we as a society started saying "morning" and dropped the "good" in front of it. Call me old fashioned, but I like a full "good morning" when being addressed but even I catch myself slipping up and just saying morning in response to the same greeting. I think we need to get our lazy asses back to the full "good morning" because in my book any pleasantry worth doing is worth doing right.

And while we're on the subject - I have another one. I can remember as far back to high school or maybe even 8th great when people started saying "What's up?" as a greeting. I know what you're thinking - what's wrong with that? It's courteous and shows you care... wrong! The truth is, it's just another pleasantry and when someone "asks" you this they don't actually want to hear about what is "up" - they just want you to say "not much" and go on about your business - some people even get a chuckle out of responding with "hard dicks and airplanes", but that's one of those time-and-place things. And then of course - as lazy a society as we have become - we've found a way to even shorten this little phrase down to "sup?". Okay, that's not even really a question... hell, it's not even a real word (I know these things as I am an avid Scrabble player)!! Again, I can admit to having fallen victim to this usage in the past. In passing I suppose it's just another way to say "hi" without feeling as fruity as you do actually saying "hi".

Another one that is a question to which no one really expects an answer (rhetorical, if you will) is "how's it goin" - and no that's not a typo, it's pronounced "goin" so I spelled it phonetically. If you ever hear some one greet you with a "How's it goin", don't give a real answer. Just politely say "not bad" (or if you prefer, "comme si, comme ca" - everything sounds more pleasant in French).

So that's my thought on some of our common USA greetings. Feel free to add your own. Maybe my next blog will be about why I just used USA instead of "American"...