I know what you're thinking - "But Michael, with your ruggedly handsome looks and your suave, debonair charm, I'd bet people would be smiling at you all the time." My only response is, well, you apparently aren't a gambler if you're willing to throw away cash on something so foolhardy as this. Truth is, I must be about the human equivalent of a Warhead candy to people who don't know me. They do this weird suck-in-their-face, braced-for-the-worst look that I can only describe using a bunch of hyphenated words that probably don't even need hyphenation.
I'm left with a few lingering questions though:
1. If I were in fact a Warhead, what flavor would I be? I wouldn't want to be a flavor where my color describes me, because who would eat a "white raspberry" candy? Do Warheads even know what they flavor they end up? Do some of them think "dang it, I'm lemon-lime. I'll be on the shelf for a while"?
2. How do you respond if you don't know the person? Do you just smile and say "hey" back? If you did it exactly the same way, would the person think you were mocking them or would they be tempted to ask you to do the human mirror trick with them?
3. Would it have been inappropriate for me to strike up a conversation? She throws me a hello and I think we're going to be fast friends. What if her smile and hello was a friendly "I hope he doesn't talk to me" gesture? Is there a friendly gesture like that? If there is, why haven't I learned it and been using it by now?
4. Would her smile have had a different effect, if say, it was storming outside? I think I would've thought "who in the world is this friendly when there's a very good chance a tree could be blown over on you at any moment?"
5. What if a person walking behind me saw her treat me in such a friendly manner and then she proceeded to not do the same for him? Are all of the kindness points she earned from smiling at me immediately revoked?
So there you go. Smile at someone today, it just may make them spend far too long analyzing it when they should be studying for a Spanish test.
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Lol. I love to smile at people in the street. When I lived in Switzerland everyone just gave me a bemused and unimpressed look, at least here I often get a friendly return as though I am being all community caring like.
ReplyDeleteThere are some things about the US that are vastly different to the UK but if I were you I would take the smile as a bit of an attempt at kind affirmation and get back to studying! Unless you go to bible college that is, then you may have just found yourself the victim of a Mrs Degree undergraduate!
Which if you are I can only recommend you continue with your current attitude to ladies (would be curious to know what experiences you have had that taught you such things), I was for sure not being sarcastic with you. Thanks for stopping by BGB, likewise with the return invite. See you around...
I hope you do not mind, but I answered the questions for you, free of charge of course!
ReplyDelete1.If I were in fact a Warhead, what flavor would I be?
No idea, why would you care what flavor you are unless you eat yourself someday, and I guarantee that will generate no smiles.
2. How do you respond if you don't know the person?
I say you give them the finger guns and wink back.
3. Would it have been inappropriate for me to strike up a conversation?
Nope, as long as the conversation started like this…” I saw you smiling and liking what you saw…”
4. Would her smile have had a different effect, if say, it was storming outside?
If it is storming and you still notice a girl’s smile, then stick with her, she’s the one!
5. What if a person walking behind me saw her treat me in such a friendly manner and then she proceeded to not do the same for him?
Happens all the time, you get used to it.