During one of the interviews in this series, David Butler gave some great advice — when you just have a conversation with someone, you never know what you will learn about others or yourself. Today I took that advice. Some of you that live near the Madison Park area may recognize Luciano Rivera — a gentleman that you can see waving at those who pass by every single day, twice a day. Whenever I'm lucky enough for our paths to cross, he always has a smile on his face as he waves to everyone. I started this series because community is important to me and it has shined even more in Charlotte than I ever thought possible the past few months.
This afternoon, I sought out to speak to Luciano and understand his story. As he was waving and smiling, I walked up and was welcomed me and our conversation with open arms. Luciano has been in Madison Park since 1991. During this time, he witnessed a terrible accident that led him and the person who survived that accident to stay in touch, and do their part in slowing down driver's speeds on the street. By doing so, it has made drivers more aware and cautious about the potential danger this road can cause if you’re not careful. Luciano continues to greet and smile every driver with two purposes — one, to slow drivers down so ensure the safety of everyone and two, to be kind and say hello with the simple gesture of a wave.
Luciano continued to tell me stories of how he has built relationships with drivers and their families. He explained how a daughter asked her father if they could drive by to wave and say hello to Luciano before she went back to school this week. It’s amazing how a conversation with a stranger can lead you to have the best day because you made the effort to get to know someone else just by saying hello with the simple gesture of a wave.
