by Tod Petersen
On the first-ever Spread Sunshine Day, Sunday, January 31, 2021, my husband Ryan and I volunteered to be the banner guys. We hung the two big TSSG banners over the chain-link sides of the walkway over Highway 62 just west of Cedar Avenue in the Nokomis neighborhood of Minneapolis. The banners say YOU ARE LOVED. For two hours we waved and goofy danced and pointed our mittens at the message and waved some more. Cars would honk and people would wave back and it was really fun. My very rough estimate is that about 50% of the cars either waved or honked. It was a grey, cold day but we definitely felt some sunshine. (Ryan did have two people flip him the bird. Oh well. They’re still loved. Tweet tweet.)
My super-thinker question of the day was, What is it about us human beans that are prompted to honk and wave back at strangers with banners of love over highways? Is it gratitude for being reminded that we are loved? Is it a desire to return the sentiment? To say, You are loved too? Does it just feel good to make a random, happy connection with strangers? Is it simply a reflexive action? If someone waves at me, I wave back?
In the end, all the answers I came up with were good enough for me. I’ll take kindness, gratitude, and connection anywhere I can get it. And I really like the idea that we are simply hardwired to connect. You wave, I wave back. I dance, you honk back. You are loved, YOU are loved.
Honk honk!! (Tweet tweet.)
You are loved, too! Both of you! 🥰