“Nobody waves,
but almost everybody
waves back.”
Nicholas Epley

In the introduction to my most recent book, The Ambassador of 38th Avenue, I mentioned that the title was given to me by one of my elderly childhood neighbors, Mr. Sam Young, when I was about ten years old. I was an outgoing kid, and I had a habit of engaging many of my neighbors, including Sam, in conversation whenever the opportunity presented itself. When a new family moved into a home on our block, I would go out of my way to welcome them to the neighborhood. I cannot tell you why I did these things, but I did. It was because of this, that Sam began calling me The Ambassador of 38th Avenue.

Now I’m 68 years old. Not much has changed in terms of my interest in getting to know my neighbors and welcome newcomers to our community. I have also developed a habit of acknowledging people pretty much anywhere I go. Occasionally, my outgoing nature is greeted with suspicion or awkwardness. Most often, however, people seem to appreciate being recognized, acknowledged, and greeted. This is something I thoroughly enjoy doing.

When I’m in San Francisco, it’s amazing how often, upon engaging in conversation with a stranger, I realize that we know people in common. Maybe the person to whom I spoke was a product of catholic education in The City, or, perhaps, our mutual friends were the result of the neighborhoods of our youth.

Last Friday, I stopped by to visit my longtime friend, George, in his San Francisco home. He introduced me to one of his friends, Sven, who happens to be an up-and-coming musician. I’d heard of him, but this was my first time meeting him. I knew that we had a common friend, Debbie, so I mentioned her to him. As we continued our conversation, and I realized the roots of his interest in music, I asked if he happened to know Tim Healy.

“Tim Healy? Of course I know Tim Healy. He was my manager for six years.”

Sven asked how I knew Tim. I informed him that Tim is my cousin. His father and my mother were first cousins… I think. It was another one of those “small world” moments to which I have become accustomed.

I once heard a saying that strangers are just friends we haven’t met yet. I believe there’s a lot of truth in this statement. Maya Angelou echoes this sentiment in the quote above. There is always a good chance that, in reaching out to someone we don’t know, we might discover a friend for a lifetime.

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