Expanding the Size of our Neighborhood

MEETING AMERICA ONE HANDSHAKE AT A TIME

I was thinking about this the other day, while out on one of my many dog walks.  Someone had asked me where the idea came from for the tagline “Meeting America One Handshake At A Time,” and I really can’t remember the origin, or the nexus, of that particular line.  However, I know that the idea of touring the United States most definitely came from a desire to meet my fellow Americans, and to satisfy, for myself, that Americans, one on one, are every bit as friendly and helpful as they were when I was a young kid.

Forget about the Americans you see on social media. Forget about the Americans you see on the news channels.  I want to meet Americans, not gussied up for the camera, not flashing their plumage for a ten-second soundbite, but the Americans I know to exist, the next-door neighbor Americans, the everyday Americans who never experience fifteen seconds of fame but, rather, live their lives one day at a time, one victory at a time, one hardship at a time.

I know they are out there, on the backroads of America, and I want to shake hands with them before I die.  It’s as simple as that.

HOW DO I KNOW THEY ARE OUT THERE?

The answer to that question is simple: I meet them daily, on my walks, and have met them for about five years now, complete strangers, eager to smile, eager to say “hello,” eager to pet my dogs and wish me a good day.

I don’t know how many, truly, I have met on these daily walks, but the number is fairly large, and it is growing daily, right here in my neighborhood, and if it can happen in my neighborhood, then who is to say that neighborhood can’t expand by, say a couple thousand miles?

It’s not as ridiculous as it may sound.  I believe the good outweighs the bad by a vast margin in this country, and around the world. I believe the great majority of our fellow citizens are ready to help a stranger, are ready to offer a hand of assistance, and are ready to smile and say hello.

And we want to meet them.  It’s as simple as that.

WILL IT MAKE SOME SORT OF DIFFERENCE?

I can’t answer this question. I have no idea if our tiny efforts of friendship will change anything in this world, but I do know one thing with absolute certainty: it certainly can’t hurt!  We are going to get out there on the road, starting in March, and we are going to smile our asses off. We are going to be kind. We are going to reach out our hands, in friendship, and hopefully our efforts will be contagious.  Hopefully, we will inspire others to be just a bit kinder.

And, quite frankly, we are counting on your help.  We will tell you where we are going to be, and we would love it if you helped spread our circle of influence by sharing our adventures with your friends and family. When we are heading for the Topeka area, come out and meet us if you live there. If we are heading for Western Massachusetts, come see us, and tell your friends to come see us.  Let’s see just how many people we can touch during our travels.  It will be a new game, like Where’s Waldo; instead, it will be Where’s Bev and Bill?

Thank you for your continued support.  You are appreciated.

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Bill