Jeep Wave

If you don’t get it, you don’t get it.

This is WaPo’s tag line, which I love. It’s clever, it’s cute, it makes you think. By the way, WaPo is the Washington Post newspaper. Doesn’t it make more sense now?  Do you get it?

But I’m not banging the keyboard to talk about a newspaper.

I wanna talk about the Jeep Wrangler (I’m following a train of thought, trust me, stay on board). More specifically, I wanna talk about the Jeep Wave.

We used to live on a mountain and when driving past another resident from the circular road around the mountain, you would do a hand-off-the-steering-wheel-exposed-palm salutation. There was no waving motion, it was a super quick hand flash but it was how we said hi to each other.  We called it the mountain wave. (I know, not super original. And the train is still tracking toward the Jeep Wave, stay seated).

The funny thing was, when we bought the mountain house, there was no mention of the mountain wave and nothing in our closing documents or home owners association paperwork about it. I looked. 

So how did we figure out the mountain wave?

We paid attention.

The mountain wave became a ritual as we drove in or out of our high-altitude neighborhood. It was a silent motion of community and belonging. Once, the mountain wave wasn’t returned and I muttered, “Dick” under my breath and not because I recognized that neighbor Richard had failed to acknowledge my greeting. I muttered because the sense of community and belonging hand’t been acknowledged or reciprocated. Richard move for sure.

Over time, we knew which cars belonged to our neighbors and we still gave them the mountain wave. But when off-mountain Richards visited the hill and didn’t return the wave or, dear God, waved with their hand still on the wheel or with some frantic sea-level waving motion, we muttered, “bless their heart” and hoped their stay on our mountain was a short one.

One day, as we drove our Jeep Wrangler off the mountain, we encountered a neighbor in their Jeep Wrangler driving toward us and there was a comical (to us) confusion of conflicting communication of community.

Now, if you don’t have a Jeep, you most likely don’t know about the Jeep wave.

And if you don’t have it (a Jeep), you won’t get it (the wave).

But, if you do have a Jeep and you don’t know about the Jeep wave, this article is for you, because you do have it (a Jeep), you’re getting it (the wave) and may not know it.

The Jeep Wave is a one hand on the steering wheel, two-finger-and-thumb raise you give when crossing paths with another Jeep. Now, there’s a whole calculator of hierarchy for the Jeep Wave but in general the Jeep Wave is done within the Jeep Wrangler ownership community. 

If you’re driving a Renegade or a Cherokee, fear not, you may not get the wave, but you can always give one. 

Note: if you give one, it may not be returned and if it is returned, it might be done out of confusion or with “bless their heart” muttered.

The funny thing is, when you buy a Jeep Wrangler, there’s no mention of the Jeep Wave obligation. At least, we didn’t get one when we bought our Jeep. 

So how did we figure out the Jeep Wave?

We paid attention.

Once we started seeing and recognizing the pattern of unique waves done only when passing other Wranglers, we did some research and learned about the Jeep Wave.

And now that we know about the Jeep Wave, we are always on alert when driving our Jeep (we’re also on alert when we drive other vehicles). As a good co-pilot, I usually warn Jen when a Jeep Wave is inbound. In gotta-look-cool pilot fashion, Jen will casually bring a hand to the steering wheel in preparation for the two-finger-and-thumb raise.

There have been times when we’re caught off guard by a delayed warning of an oncoming Jeep. As a result, there have been numerous less-cool executions of a tornadic flurry of hand digits rivaling a third-base baseball coach in between pitches.

Whether I’m in the Jeep driving or sitting shotgun, I’m always at the ready for an oncoming Wrangler, which entails paying attention.

Shouldn’t we always be paying attention? 

There’s a whole lot of Jeep Waves in our lives. Things we do routinely. Things we have to be on the look out for. Things that may not have been included in our home buying closing documents or automotive purchase paperwork.

My understanding is that when you bring a kid into the world, you don’t get a manual. Is that right? I would’t know because I don’t have one (a child). But it could just be a thing where if I don’t get it (a child), I don’t get it (a manual).

Regardless, there are plenty of things we need to pay attention to. And it would help if we passed on some of the information we’ve learned to be true, like the expected action if you’re in a Jeep Wrangler and encounter another Jeep Wrangler.

Pay attention and share your knowledge, because if you don’t get it, you don’t get it.