Back in the Day

I bought a Beetle back in 2001.

She was galaxy blue, and I adored her.

I named her Rascal, and driving, which for me has always felt like a bit of a chore, suddenly became, yanno, FUN.

My favorite thing about scooting around town in Rascal was that, since the New Beetle had only been out since 1998, she was still a bit of a novelty. When driving a Beetle, you were part of a small (dare I say elite?) social subgroup comprised of people who shared the common traits of being super cool, fun-o-centric, and exceedingly friendly.

Hence, the wave.

You see, back in the day, the code among the Beetle-driving brethren was that, when we encountered a fellow Beetle on the road, we would wave at each other.

"Hello, friend."

There was one guy in a silver Bug who I crossed paths with every morning on the way to work.

Every day, we waved.

Rain or shine.

Sleet or snow.

When I became a mom, Rascal was traded in for a Jetta.

Mommy needs four doors, after all.

The Jetta was a good car.

A solid car.

A practical car.

But it wasn't, yanno, FUN.

Anyhow, my child's big enough to climb in and out of her own car seat, so this summer I traded in the car of exceeding practicality for another Beetle.

She is sunflower yellow, and I adore her.

Driving is, yanno, FUN again.

But here's the problem: the novelty factor has faded.

There are quite a few of us on the road now and, consequently, the wave has disappeared.

I've done it a few times these last few weeks - trying to resurrect the tradition - but to no avail. I'm either completely ignored by the other driver or greeted with a perplexed expression. (No one-fingered salutes, though. These are Beetle drivers, after all.)

Do you suppose the Mini Cooper people wave at each other?

Or the Hummer folks, perhaps?

Eh, probably not...