I’m trying to figure out the winter rules for conversation and sociability on the beach. I thinking about this because here at the cottage (and on the beach) I’m into silence and thus conscious of all the sounds around me. Undoubtedly the standards for summer are entirely different, but here’s what I observed yesterday at low tide on a warm afternoon.
When walking along the sidewalk on the way to the beach, the rules are clear. Any or all of the following are acceptable: nod, raise your hand as in waving, say hello, offer a one-liner on the weather. On the beach, the rules are different, probably because everyone is so spread out. But even within talking distance, the most anyone gets or gives is a nod or wave. That is, unless dogs are involved, and then all rules and etiquette are off. Owners feel perfectly free to let their dogs bark at you or jump on you, and are more than willing to converse with you (about their dog, of course).
Yesterday (sorry no pic) a lady explained to me that she’s trying to get her new, very tiny, dog to be friendly. “I hope you don’t mind that he’s jumping on you. Since I’ve been letting him ‘meet’ people, he’s not as shy. I’ve only had him a week.”
My role in this etiquette is to rave (as in wonderful) about the dog. “Looks like you have winner.”
Thank goodness the Emily Post of dog etiquette doesn’t say I have to linger and talk. And thank goodness there’s something about the beach that keeps everyone moving, especially dogs.
When walking along the sidewalk on the way to the beach, the rules are clear. Any or all of the following are acceptable: nod, raise your hand as in waving, say hello, offer a one-liner on the weather. On the beach, the rules are different, probably because everyone is so spread out. But even within talking distance, the most anyone gets or gives is a nod or wave. That is, unless dogs are involved, and then all rules and etiquette are off. Owners feel perfectly free to let their dogs bark at you or jump on you, and are more than willing to converse with you (about their dog, of course).
Yesterday (sorry no pic) a lady explained to me that she’s trying to get her new, very tiny, dog to be friendly. “I hope you don’t mind that he’s jumping on you. Since I’ve been letting him ‘meet’ people, he’s not as shy. I’ve only had him a week.”
My role in this etiquette is to rave (as in wonderful) about the dog. “Looks like you have winner.”
Thank goodness the Emily Post of dog etiquette doesn’t say I have to linger and talk. And thank goodness there’s something about the beach that keeps everyone moving, especially dogs.