Monday Musings

When I first moved to the UK I was rather unnerved by the typical greeting: “You okay?”  I wondered if I looked ill or if I was somehow wearing my pants (underwear) outside my trousers (pants). Were they asking if something was WRONG with me?

Then a friend surmised (not sure how reliable this person is) that the greeting originated during the Blitz in London during World War II.

It was a reassurance that a friend or stranger had survived intact. A quick check that they had indeed made it through.  “Okay?  You okay?”

Now the greeting is a cursory, automatic response. It doesn’t unnerve me because, in fact, I am surviving just fine. And I answer: “Yeah, you?”

But after catastrophic fire, flood, drought, and wind in the US maybe it’s worth taking a note from our British cousins.  You okay?

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