Randomly, and as inspired by Andrew J. Hiscock's recent flurry of blog awesomeness:

Following a forced hiatus due to a move to the sub-suburbs, I’ve recently found myself once again blessed with the joys of walking through the downtown area. I walk the same route daily, from the Delta to Forest Road and encounter dozens of people, including fellow walkers, commuters dashing from the office doorway to their vehicle, shoppers, shop owners, tourists, parking enforcement officers, and so on. I don’t mind the black ice. I don’t mind the wind. I don’t mind the hat wearing lady in the Corolla who nearly ran me over yesterday near the Craft Council Shop (mostly because I was stupidly wearing gray at dusk and she was close to 100 years old). What I do mind, though, is the fact that nobody, not nobody says “hello”, “hi”, or even “kiss m'arse” (okay, maybe “kiss m'arse”, but you know what I mean) to passersby anymore, let alone the classic “whaddayat” so popularly embraced fter the Jake D'yle/Strombo interview earlier this week.

Now, I’ve done my share of complaining about customer service here in NL, and I’ve tried to encourage more talk about good customer service, via twitter and occasionally via my blog. But this is way more alarming than the obvious breakdown between the service industry and the public. What does this say about a place that supposedly prides itself on its warmth, its character, and the decency of its people? I know everyone’s busy, everyone has other stuff on their mind and all that, but seriously, would it kill you to acknowledge, just for a split second, the fact that another human being is occupying the same 3-foot-wide space as you? A simple smile or even a chin toss would do. Especially if that other human being already spoken to you. Please don’t leave ‘em hanging! I challenge anyone who is reading this to take a leap: meet eyes with the next person you pass on the street, instead of casting yours downward. Just see how it feels. We’re all in this together, you know.

‘Til I see you on the street,

Janet