Say Cheese!

So I was sitting in a coffee shop, as I often do. (Shout out to @RealBobWilson and @RudeMorgue, waving hi guys!)

As sometimes happens, there was a lull in the conversation. I looked around, as one does. There was a young man with unfortunate facial hair in the next booth.

My brain automatically clicked over a couple of punch lines at his expense – none of which I voiced, thankyouverymuch. I felt sorry for the guy. He looked both miserable and pathetic.

Then he smiled. That’s when I realized I knew him. Until he smiled, he was just some random stranger in a coffee shop.

Now we uncover the buried lead of this piece with a flourish and a ta daa: Yes, a smile makes that much of a difference in life.

To be fair, I don’t know the guy well and hadn’t seen him since last spring, but I know him to talk to. Frowning, he was literally unrecognizable. The smile transformed him from some poor shlub into someone from that place where I used to go.

There’s a book about smiles, called “Lip Service” by Marianne LaFrance. It’s filled with useful if unsurprising wisdom like:
1. Food servers who smile more get bigger tips, and
2. People respond better to photos of smiling faces.

There’s lots more of the same, with a huge amount about how babies learn to smile. Yawn. Sorry. Please excuse me. I didn’t exactly make it through the whole book.

People like smiles. I like smiles. Let a smile be your umbrella, as long as it’s not actually raining. But until Tuesday night, I didn’t realize quite how much of a difference a smile can make.

Think about it. The next time someone tells you to smile, maybe they’re just trying to figure out who you are.