Growing up out here, I was raised on what I like to call country manners. Not the “use your salad fork first” kind — I mean the real ones. The ones that sneak into your bones when you’re raised in a place where the roads are narrow, the neighbors know your name, and kindness is more currency than show.

Things like giving the Caltrans sign guy a friendly wave as you drive by — and him waving back without missing a beat. Flashing your headlights to warn oncoming cars about a deer in the road or a tree down ahead. Smiling at people you pass on the street, even if you’ve never met. Leaving a Christmas card or a little gift for your mail carrier and the garbage man — because, let’s be honest, they deserve it more than most of us.

Tiny gestures. Barely seconds of effort. But somehow, they used to stitch this whole county together.

Lately, though, it feels like those small courtesies are fading. You wave at the Caltrans guy now and he looks at you like you’ve got three heads. Flash your lights and someone honks like you’ve insulted their ancestors. Smile at a stranger and they look ready to call security. Somewhere between the out-of-towners moving in and the rush of modern living, those little rituals of respect have slipped through the cracks.

And it’s a loss. Those country manners were part of what gave Nevada County that Andy Griffith-in-Mayberry charm — the thing people come here chasing, whether they realize it or not. The sense that you’re not just surrounded by people, but by neighbors. Lately it’s starting to feel less Mayberry, more Twilight Zone.

So here’s a gentle nudge: teach your kids about country manners. Remind your friends. Pass it along at the office, around the dinner table, in line at the post office. Wave anyway. Smile anyway. Flash those headlights, even if you get honked at.

Because while they may seem small, those gestures carry weight. They remind us that community doesn’t vanish overnight — it just forgets itself. And all it takes to remember is a wave, a smile, or a kind word in passing.