Picture used with permission
of David Singer

Last night, I walked into a Walmart’s, and there stood a lovely little girl around the age of 11 or 12. Her smile was infectious. What did I do? I smiled back.

Her mother was standing across the entry way from her. She asked me if I smiled at her daughter when she smiled at me. I said of course–who wouldn’t?–she had a beautiful smile.

Her mother told me that her daughter was working on a science fair project, and she asked me if she could take a picture of me with her daughter, because I smiled back.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m rather allergic to pictures. But I jumped right into that picture with the delightful little girl (who smiled the whole time).

Obviously, the premise is if you smile at someone, most people will smile back. She’ll have a record of how many people looked at her, how many smiled, and how many people agreed to have their pictures made. What an ingenious science project!

Are those of you who offer tips for science fair projects listening??

The whole thing was fascinating to me, as you might imagine. I travel constantly, and everywhere I go, people smile at me, because I am friendly to them. People say that certain parts of the country or world aren’t friendly. Is it because we stereotype those parts of the country or world? We assume they’re not friendly, so we don’t try?

I’m totally against stereotypes. I live in the deep South. We’re known for certain things–some very very bad and some very good. Most are totally inaccurate. By the same token, just because someone lives in NYC doesn’t mean they won’t smile when you walk past them. Give it a try.

If this little girl were standing in NYC in a Walmart, would her results be totally different? Would she have less pictures to show in her project? Less people smiling back at her?

It’s something to think about, isn’t it?

Have a great weekend . . . and be friendly to those you meet. A smile doesn’t cost you a thing, and neither does reading this blog.

Robin