Wednesday 16 August 2006

A Smile At The Drive Thru

So there’s a turn up for the books, I’ve had this blog for a week and a half and I’ve not yet lost interest. So who is reading this blog? Hopefully, not too many. It’s too damn scary thinking of other people reading this. I’m a million different people from one day to the next and the whole idea that someone may see that the stable, intelligent, strong guy that I like to project to the outside world was nothing more than a lie and a figment of my imagination just doesn’t bear thinking about. So what am I going to talk about here? If only I knew. The likelihood that I will keep it up is slim to none, I am generally a lazy person (when I get the chance that is) and a procrastinator to boot. So yeah why am I doing this again? Anyway enough of this I’m havering (it’s a Scottish word, get used to them, I’ll use them often), I need to find something to talk about here.

Let me talk about smiles, it seems appropriate as it goes with the day I had to yesterday. I’m a sucker for a beautiful smile and eye contact. I don’t know why exactly but I’ve always liked smiles. That moment when someone looks at you in the eyes and doesn’t look away as if to suggest that you have intruded into their soul but instead smiles back, not much in my book beats that moment. That’s not to say that there are not things that are even better than that but I’m not going to get into that today.

Anyway the reason I thought I’d mention smiles was because of one event I experienced yesterday. As usual I worked my 10 hours (ah the joys of being self employed, is it any wonder I’m lazy when I get the chance?), and instead of going home and waiting while my leftover Sunday roast chicken got ready I decided I was too hungry so I drove into the Burger King on the way home and ordered myself a large whopper meal. I know, its bad for me, but I’m blessed with a good metabolism, I can get away with it, although in truth I try not to eat them too often, if only because some day that metabolism will desert me and I will suffer as a consequence. I do like my food a lot, even more than sex, sometimes.

Can I stick to the point here? Obviously not. Back to the story, I ordered my meal at the drive-thru and drove up to the collection window. I was served by a beautiful young woman of 25 or thereabouts, she took my money gave me my meal and my change and a smile as I started the engine. But damn! What a smile it was. It wasn’t the type of smile that you often see in places like Burger King, you know the one I’m talking about the ‘may-I-take-your-order-sir’ when really they are thinking ‘god I hate this job, when do I graduate and get something better than this’. Instead her smile was something deeper, it was genuine. It was the kind that makes your heart stop. The type that makes you wonder if the person that wakes up and sees that smile every morning fully appreciates the beauty of it.

I’m not the type of guy that hits on women while they do their shopping in Tesco’s or work in Burger King. Instead I drove off thinking if only everyone smiled like that. If we did, perhaps there would be no war; perhaps noone would find the excuse to blow themselves up in these dangerous times. Or perhaps I’m just being overly romantic to what I thought was the most beautiful genuine smile I have seen in my 28 years of being on this earth. I know one thing I might just get myself another whopper meal just to see it again some day.

And so it begins, my diet goes to hell because of one beautiful smile.

I always thought it was supposed to be McDonalds that made the happy meal.

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