the smedley log - suburban scrawl

gratuitous

the coffee girl smiles-
-fueled by happiness or
desire for a tip?

but does it matter,
if the joe keeps flowing and
the bagel’s toasted?

again – too dim to respond in kind right now – but been thinking about this one since you posted it. Regardless of the motive of the 1st smile, if you assume the best you help ensure the second one is.

the last several years or so I’ve made it an explicit point to not let my pissy day be taken out on support (secretaries, waitresses, busdrivers…) and have found that making myself slap on that smile and be nice when I least feel like it creates a response in them that makes it worth the trouble. self-fulfilling-prophecy-like in a good way, I guess.