Saying Hello

Saying the single word "Hello" is not a difficult act, neither does it take much time. Why, then, is it so very hard for so many people to say?

Yesterday, DH and I were cutting the lawns at my mum's house, and as I was clearing up and bagging the grass, I could see a very young child and his father making their way down the pavement. The little boy was on a bicycle and his father was walking next to him. As they approached, the little boy gleefully rang his bell and shouted "Hello!" to me, with a beaming smile on his dear little face. I immediately stopped what I was doing, stood up, smiled at him  and said "Hello!" back.
His father stopped briefly and said to me "Thank you for taking the time to say Hello to him; you'd be surprised at the number of people who just totally ignore him when we are out for our walks. "

I was absolutely dumbfounded. How could anyone **not** find the time or effort to say hello to a child who is greeting you with such innocence and a beaming smile? All I could think to say was "That must be so dispiriting for him", then I waved at the child and told him to have a lovely day. His father thanked me once more, and the little boy waved back at me and beamed before continuing on his slow progress around the block.

Slightly later on, as we were driving home, we drove past this father and son again, and I made a point of waving at them so the little boy could see me doing it, but I felt sad for ages afterwards and wondered what sort of message we are giving young children when we cannot even be bothered to smile at them or greet them.