IS GREATER Fredericksburg
the kind of place where people
still speak when they meet on the street?

I've gotten letters from readers on both sides of that idea recently.

Some have argued that yes, Fredericksburg and the surrounding counties are full of folks who are hospitable, friendly and willing to help a neighbor.

Others argued that no, folks here don't know one another or speak like they used to, and that many are so caught up in commuter-rushing that they'll cuss you at the drop of a hat.

The arguments made me curious, and moved me to try a totally unscientific test of our region's friendliness on Friday.

I went to several spots in Fredericksburg and in Stafford and Spotsylvania counties and served as a self-proclaimed friendliness researcher.

My simple test: Say hello to everyone I met on the street, in a store or in a mall, and record how they responded.

The results: More than half the people I said "hi," "hello" or "howdy" to answered in kind, 175 friendly folks compared to 115 who remained mum.

People I saw on the streets and in shops in Fredericksburg were more likely to return greetings than those in the other localities. Some 62 I encountered in the city responded, compared to 27 who didn't.

In Spotsylvania, 57 people answered my hello, while 37 didn't.

In Stafford, it was a little closer, with 56 people speaking back, compared to 51 who didn't.

I'm no social scientist, but I probably should point out that in Fredericksburg, most of the folks I came into contact with were walking down the sidewalk in a small-town atmosphere, out in the open air.

In Spotsylvania, a good percentage of the folks were in Spotsylvania Mall, where people seemed to be either in pairs or hurrying to one store of another, and not quite as likely to slow down or speak.

And in Stafford, the "testing" was largely in or in front of shops in Garrisonville. Intent on getting from their cars to the shops and back, folks seemed the least likely to stop and speak.