Have a Nice Day

I don't recall when I first became aware of this expression, but I think it was in the 1960'. This was a volatile period in our country's history. The cold war was still with us and many believed that nuclear war was all but inevitable.

The beatniks of the late 1950's preceded the hippies of the 60's. Like the hippies, they were a segment of society, mostly young. There was a negativism about them in that they believed there would be no future, so anything goes today. Some read poetry in the parks and/or the beaches; some used drugs; most didn't work; and some didn't even bathe. Some folks said that the difference between the beatniks and the hippies was that the hippies were cleaner. I don't know about that.
I seem to remember that both of these groups were very polite and non-combative. The term, "Have a nice day" was a signature greeting of these groups. It was picked up by college students and other younger people and eventually made it's way into mainstream conversation. It's common these days to just say, "Have a good one".

The 1960's were also exciting times. Prior to getting bogged down in the Vietnam War, the country had elected a new president who set goals of bringing civil rights to all, creating good will around the world, and sending humans to the moon. New programs, such as the Peace Corps, were very successful. There was an electricity in the air and new hope for bringing the poor and underprivileged into mainstream society. That ended November 22, 1663, in Dallas. That was not a nice day.

Last year, we had heavy rain and massive flooding here in Western Washington. Many homes and businesses were destroyed. Sitting here in my warm, comfortable house, away from the destruction, I wouldn't have known about it, except for television and the internet. As I watched the noon and evening news, I saw video footage of men, women, and children, walking in the mud and water, as they try to salvage some small part of their belongings. There wasn't much. These people were not having a nice day.

A dairy farmer talked about having 220 cows, of which only 16 survived the flood. One man being interviewed said he has been wearing the same clothes for a week because he has no other. The spirit of these people was phenomenal. They were smiling and thankful for all the outpooring of suppport. They were looking forward to recovery and more nice days.

Have a nice day.