Sorry 'bout dat

Aunt Judie just wanted to say sorry.

Judie Wieland McCoy is a careful driver. She's 80 years old, lives in Lubbock, Texas, and takes her time on the road. When she's a little slow to merge, or doesn't see the gap, or holds someone up — she waves her hand behind the rearview mirror, hoping the driver behind sees.

They almost never do.

At night, through tinted windows, in the rain, at highway speeds — the hand wave is invisible. And Judie feels terrible. Not because she did anything wrong. But because she's a courteous person with no way to show it.

The idea came on a 12-hour drive to the family's beloved lakehouse in Branson, Missouri — affectionately known as TooWieNewHaw, for the Tombs, Wielands, Newkirks, and Hawkins families that celebrate holidays together there. Somewhere on that long stretch of highway, Judie proposed a flip-up thank-you hand wave — something that would pop up from behind the rear-view mirror to make a nod of appreciation for another driver who was courteous.

That conversation led to many ideas about how to infuse some Midwest hospitality into an ever-stressed driving public. And it stuck with her nephew Justin — a technology builder in Wichita, Kansas.

Eight months passed. Nothing happened.

Then Judie called to check on the status of The Wave Machine. And Justin realized the time had come. He had a Harvard MBA. He had designed and sourced products in India, China, and the Philippines. He had a degree in Computer Science from the US Air Force Academy. And in eight months, he had made zero progress on his aunt's brilliant idea.

Having done nothing, Justin consulted with his thinking team — Claude, Grok, Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity, DeepSeek, and Kimi — and together they explored the problem from every angle: the apology-first insight, the closed vocabulary for safety, the dignity of older drivers, the Bluetooth paradox, the suction-cup mount, the steering wheel remote. Round after round of peer review, each AI bringing a different lens, until the product you see on this page took shape.

Justin built a website to show the concept and sent it to Judie in Lubbock. She sent back the best text Justin had ever received:

We have approval from headquarters. Now we just need to book some orders.

We're bringing back WieDidIt.

In the 1980s, Judie ran a craft store called WieDidIt — short for "Wieland's Did It." It represented handmade quality, personal touch, and the pride of making something yourself.

We're resurrecting that brand for The Handwave. Because this isn't a tech startup launching a gadget. It's a family bringing back a craft brand to make something kind.

And Judie receives 50% of all net profits. This is her idea, her brand, and her heart. That's non-negotiable.