Opinion

Grins, kind words have great power

SCOTT HOLLIFIELD
Published: January 26, 2012

My eyelids flew open like cartoon window shades, my teeth already gritting in anticipation of what I would find. My mornings are often filled with the sounds of angst — booms, thuds, "Where's my shoes?" — but this was the unmistakable 6:30 a.m. reverberation of something breaking on the bathroom floor.

The teen had knocked over her fancy lighted makeup mirror, a Christmas present from her grandparents, and the mirror reacted as mirrors do when they meet tile floors at a certain velocity. This came only days after she dropped her iPod, a Christmas present from the wife and me, onto the cement floor of the garage.

I reacted with typical restraint and understanding.

"What the #$%? Are you systematically trying to destroy every-#$%-thing you got for Christmas? No one takes care of anything in this house! …"

Maybe I was a little harsh on the home crowd. Upon further reflection, maybe I was a lot harsh. Saddled with guilt, I rode over to the big-box store to search for a replacement fancy lighted makeup mirror, which I planned to present as a peace offering. This proved difficult to locate.

I asked a clerk. He smirked.

"Try the makeup section."

I picked up a large pink box from the "home vanity collection" and headed for self-checkout, hoping to avoid any more smirks or judgmental glances at my purchase.

There were no self-checkouts. Instead, my big pink box and I came face to face with a cashier. She was a young, shorthaired woman with tattoos. I looked at her. She looked at me. We both looked at the box. She looked back at me and grinned. I realized it was the first smile I had seen all day, and that was mostly my fault.

"You're an awfully pretty man," she said. "You'll get a lot of use out of something like this."

We both laughed. I realized it was the first laugh I had all day. I headed home. I owed some folks a grin and a kind word or two. It's amazing what they can do.

Scott Hollifield is editor-general manager of The McDowell News, in Marion, N.C.