Get Your Ducks in a Row

Turning What You Love into What You Do
By Patrick J. O’Connor

My brother and sister drove Corvettes. I often rode along and sometimes got to drive one of them. They were (and  still are) very cool cars. One  thing I noticed as we rode is that Corvette owners acknowledged each other with a quick wave as they passed. The only explanation my siblings gave me was, “That’s just what we do.” That was many years ago and I never really gave it much thought until recently.

It’s common for some vehicle owners (Corvette, Mustang, Harley-Davidson) to wave to each other. It’s a sign of friendship and an indication that “we’re on the same team.” It reflects camaraderie which often develops from shared activities, interests or endeavors, especially during times of adversity. It creates a feeling of connection and community within a group. Sort of like, “birds of a feather…”

This also happens with Jeep owners but they’re taking this practice to another level. While driving around lately, I began to notice certain Jeep models had rubber ducks lined up along the dashboard. Each time I passed a Jeep or saw one in a parking lot, I looked to see if there were ducks on the dashboard. I was puzzled as to why I sometimes saw ducks  and other times none. Some had only one or two but others had many more… often of different colors. Some even had costumes and resembled notable characters.

Jeep Subculture?
I noticed the ducks seemed to be on certain models of Jeeps. The more contemporary style had none while the boxy, military style did. After about a month of chronicling this in my head I came to  the conclusion that about half the flat-fender jeeps had ducks on the dashboard. It seems there is a subculture within the Jeep world. Jeep Wrangler seems to be the favorite model displaying ducks. The  more I observed, the more puzzled I became.

A search provided an explanation. This activity is called “ducking.” It  started about six years ago by Allison Parliment from Ontario, Canada. Allison, who has since passed away, began placing rubber ducks on Jeeps to pass on a smile. The COVID pandemic spurred her desire to spread a little sunshine in the lives of other Jeep owners. She was turning what she loved into what she did. She said, “For me, it was an act of kindness, a healing of sorts, as well as recognition and greeting to a fellow Jeep owner. You connect, bring a smile to someone’s face, and have fun.”

The Jeep
The Jeep was known for its durability and reliability, mainly as a military vehicle. About 640,000 of them, most built in the Toledo Willys plant, served in WWII. A common story on the origin of the name is it was considered a general purpose (GP) vehicle. When sounded out, GP sounds like Jeep. Another explanation is related to a 1940s Popeye cartoon that featured a character called Eugene the Jeep. General George Marshall, Chief of Staff of the US Army during the war, called the vehicle “America’s greatest contribution to modern warfare.”

Jeep Owner Comments
A chance meeting in a dentist’s parking lot led to a conversation with a woman who had ducks on her dash. She told me the ducks bring her comfort as some were given as gifts at critical times in her life. Some ducks she will “recycle” to other Jeep owners but others she  keeps for sentimental reasons.

As we talked, I noticed one on her door handle. She picked up the duck in a Mickey Mouse costume. I asked how she felt and she said it brought joy to her… in the parking lot of the dentist office! A few minutes later, the dentist informed me he had a Jeep. I asked if he had ducks on his dash. He said he gets lots of them but rather than display them, he recycles them to one of  his hygienists who collects them for her daughter. The daughter has dozens of them, as she has been collecting them for years. He also shared that on a recent trip to Italy, he passed a store that sold little ducks.

Duck store in Florence, Italy

Another Jeep owner shared her experience with “ducking.” She has dozens of them, including  a supply of Halloween-themed ducks to share during Halloween. She occasionally recycles a few to other owners. But, like our first traveler, she keeps many of them because they were given to her by friends and family at important (sometimes critical ) times.

It seems there is a deeper attachment to ducking than just sharing camaraderie with other Jeep owners. There are also many related items available, including posters, banners, ducking kits, pins and other items. What started as a kind thought seems to be moving from gesture to fad to trend to a movement. Thanks, Allison.