Pondering smiles

Smiles are happy things, quick automatic almost. Pondering is heavy, slow moving. We talk of someone moving ponderously and we imagine elephantine. Ponder implies weighty decisions.

Arriving back in Geneva I found myself as usual whenever I happened to make eye contact smiling. Instead of smiling back, most people lowered their heads and some frowned. I hadn’t been gone that long. My behaviour hadn't changed. I was confused.

Then in Paris I found the same thing. I was beginning to think that instead of smiling I was making mouth attacks and thought of taking surveys on which city had more negative smile reactions. In other words I was pondering the politics of smiling.

However, that did not stop me from enjoying Paris. I visited The Red Wheel Barrow book store, wandered around the surrounding streets. I especially appreciated the middle aged men with their graying locks grazing their collars. They seemed to be in some kind of uniform: turtle neck sweaters, jeans and blue suit jackets. All had flat tummies. Oogle is more fun than ponder.

Two cats acted as watch cats at different boutiques sitting in the middle of their doors.
Although we all know I am not a shopper, I love the imagination behind these shops. Two had clothing made by the owners and I admire the courage of the women designers to set themselves up.

Then my telephone rang. It was my hostess arranging to meet me at Notre Dame so we could wander the Latin Quarter. All around me people were passing me and smiling.

It startled me until I realized. My natel(cell) phone is in a white and black spotted fuzzy dog case. The pup’s head sticks over my hand and his back legs and tail are below. They were seeing an older woman chatting into the stomach of a stuffed animal. How this will work into my smile survey I do not know, but somehow I will build this parameter into it.