What Goes by the Wayside

I hate it that the little courtesies are getting lost. The opening of a door for someone ahead of you—male or female—the swift and non-taxing inclination of the head in greeting, the sotto voce “good afternoon” in passing. It is all getting lost. Someday, they will be gone entirely, those small tokens of politeness, and by the same measure, the kind cordiality they inspire.