"It would be hard to do that in New York City.", Narayan imitated waving to everyone in sight in Manhattan,"Hello, Hi, hello, hello, hi , hi...."
My son and I had walked halfway across Panama, over the back roads of Costa Rica and into the subways of New York.
Everywhere we've met friendly, helpful people, even in the 'dangerous areas' in Panama City we'd been warned of. Today we're walking on familiar roads close to home in North Carolina, where everyone waves, where neighbors come out to greet us and ask how we've been. There have been two grand festivals in our community since our return last Tuesday. More festivities are scheduled for this weekend. Home is certainly 'the friendliest place on Earth', though there are challenges here that one will not encounter on the road. A host may tolerate my ill behavior as I am only passing through. My wife and close friends don't have that option. The danger here is to neglect those who are closest, and overlook their favors and courtesies, taking them for granted.
