Extend Finger, Tilt Head Down

 Today, I was driving behind a motorcycle. I noticed that, when other motorcycles approached him in the on-coming lanes, all of the bikers extended the arms closest to one another and pointed at the ground. I assume, this was a show of “Biker Solidarity” otherwise they were pointing at the pavement and, I think, in effect, saying,

“There it is, it’s hard, DON’T fall on it.”  

(We also pulled up next to a gang of bikers at a stop light. Every last one of them was well past 60 and respectable. I smiled to myself, thinking of how different that was from my very early childhood when a gang of motorcyclists was enough to set my sister to crying, my mother to freeze in nervous anticipation and my dad to fidgeting like he was back in a rice paddy in Vietnam - he’d chew his lip and stare at them, until they’d roared off - Vietnam was not kind to him, but that is another story.  I rolled down my 3 yo’s window so that he could wave at the Grandpa Bikers and thought, Wow, how time changes things. )

This reminds me of the “Two Finger Wave,” that I use in my pick-up truck. Thumb hooked around the steering wheel, raise first two fingers at another passing truck,

“Hey dude, yeah, it‘s a good thing 

this thing came with running boards 

or I‘d never be able to climb up in here!” 

 (Perhaps, you’ve never seen it as it takes place ABOVE the heads of the passengers in most generic cars. :) )

This wave is similar, but of somewhat lower intensity, than the “Truck-Nod.” It’s that nod that we give one another - mouth set firmly in a non-smile, quick nod of the neck in the direction of the other truck, eyes quickly averted back to the road. This is usually given after one truck has waited on another truck to execute some tricky maneuver,

“Respect to you, my brotha, 
I KNOW that trailer can be a bitch to back up.”

Which got me to thinking: I think that all of us of the forty “persuasion” should have a hand sign, like a signal that says, “I, too, remember parachute pants and big hair.” I was thinking that we’d all execute the downward head tilt, followed by one finger extended toward whatever part of us is falling apart, at the moment. (Which finger you want to use would be left up to personal preference. :)  ) For me, that’d mean, head tilt toward the ground, pointer finger extended toward the wrinkles between my eyes.

We’d start a new trend, youtube would light up with videos of middle-aged folks doing these strange little movements at one another, they’d discuss conspiracy theories on both Fox News and CNN - it’d also be good practice for the next phase of our lives, in which we complain about our physical ailments to arbitrary people on the subway.  Or, we’d just effectively embarrass our kids. A win-win situation, either way, if you ask me. I’m open to suggestions.