All across Australia, there is a movement, a signal, a friendly gesture that is time honoured, gender inclusive and completely non-discriminatory.
The wave.
We are not talking about the actions of the group at a soccer game here. It’s a personal thing. Automotive related. Deeply emotional to some and physiologically robotic to others. At its most vanilla one driver is involved; an extreme event will involve the drivers and passengers in the front seats of both vehicles simultaneously.
It can be initiated by any manner of gestures. So numerous to mention: I will give it ago.
- Lifting of one finger off the steering wheel
- Lifting of a number of fingers off the steering wheel
- Whole palm gesture including fingers vertical
- Whole palm gesture with hand in a crescent shape
- Heavy metal symbol, two fingers
- Peace sign with fingers
- A nod with the head (often motorcyclists do this as their hands are busy)
- Turn sideways with the head
Sadly this tradition is lost in city areas. A wave will go non-responded to, unnoticed, unloved. The loss of kinship, the loss of community, the unacknowledged acknowledgment is a tragic plight within our city areas. Perhaps people in the country have more time, are more relaxed, or are spirited with community; albeit a community bonded by travel.
I adore the single finger lift. The simplicity of minimalist acknowledgement; the friendly gesture. Today a driver gave me a heavy metal salute. Another driver gave me a salute shaped like a gun pointed finger. All friendly, all designed to lift each other’s spirit within the confines of our tin motorised boxes, whilst experiencing the thousands of kilometres of travel.
The most memorable salute I gave was on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Coming out of a small town there was a car with learning plates attached, motoring towards me in the adjacent lane. I lifted my hand and gave a full hand wave to the driver. It was a young girl who had obviously just received her learners. Her entire face went from extreme concentration, to blissful excited joy. She smiled, her entire face lit up, she beamed as she waved back. I may have indeed been the very first person to offer a wave to her.
It is such a small gesture that can mean so much to a person. I had a warm fuzzy feeling all day from the interaction. I hope that I had just made her day.
Just be there
Travel comes in many forms, each offering a unique experience. Riding a motorcycle along a winding mountain road brings a sense of freedom—wind rushing past, the hum of the engine beneath you, the road stretching endlessly ahead. In a car, there’s comfort, music playing, conversation flowing, and the quiet rhythm of tires on pavement. Trains glide smoothly through landscapes, a moving window into different worlds—forests, cities, and rolling fields passing by in a blur.
On foot, every step connects you to the ground, the world moving at your pace. A walk through a bustling city immerses you in sounds, scents, and fleeting encounters. Hiking in nature, the journey becomes meditative, the path dictating your rhythm. A bicycle offers a balance between speed and presence—fast enough to explore, slow enough to notice the details.
Even on a boat, cutting through water, or in the air, soaring above the clouds, movement is an adventure. Whether you travel to escape, to explore, or simply to exist in motion, the method doesn’t matter. What matters is the feeling—the shift in perspective, the stories collected along the way, and the simple joy of being somewhere else, even if only for a while.
Acts of kindness as simple as a smile, a ‘Good morning my friend’ often go a long way.
It lifts up the day, both sides feel good and make the world a better place.
As you know, Les we sell our handmade jewellery on the streets of Australia and beyond while we cycled the world.
While selling we usually give four bracelets away each day or reduce the price.
It feels good!
A few years ago while street selling in the centre of Brisbane a young woman walked past during rush hour.
She stopped picked up a bracelet and said ‘That’s beautiful’ and then moved on.
In those 20 seconds, I had observed her and it was clear se battled with drugs and prostitution .
I picked up the bracelet and caught up with her while she was in a crowd at the pedestrian crossing.
I put my hand on her shoulder and said ‘Is this the bracelet you liked’?
I put it on her wrist, a tear appeared in the corner of her eyes, she gave me a hug and disappeared.
Two months later while selling in the city CBD of Sydney, I was concentrating on making an anklet and suddenly a wrist was put in front of my face.
I looked up, there was woman with an older man next to her.
She smiled and said ‘Do you remember me’?
‘Yes I do’, I replied with a smile – ‘Brisbane’!
She said ‘That day in Brisbane you gave me the bracelet, I was suicidal and planned to end my life that evening, your act of kindness triggered something deep within me!
May I introduce my father, I am out of prostitution and quit the drugs’.
It was a brief emotional reunion.
All this happened because of a Small Acts of Kindness.
Sorry for the loss of your friend.
RIP Jamie Dodd.
🙏🌻🙏
Thankyou Michael.
This is a powerful story.
Or a simple story/act with powerful positive ramifications
Thank you for sharing.
Hi Les & Mandy, a wave can be like the waves in the ocean some are small some are large but they are all in the same direction, Travel safe, see you when you get back, Uncle Bill.
Thankyou Uncle Bill.
I love the sentiment, same direction as my thoughts.
Spot on.
🙂
Les