Published Apr 03, 2025 • Last updated 6 hours ago • 3 minute readColin MacLean is the lead editor of the Journal Pioneer and lives in Southwest Lot 16, P.E.I. Photo by File /Journal PioneerShe caught my arm, looked me in the eye and said four words I’ve thought about often in the years since.“Thank you for smiling.”A loaded sentence if I ever heard one. Imagine it being so unusual to see someone smiling that you feel the need to thank them for it. That’s – depressing.And, ironically, as I muttered an awkward but appreciative “No problem” and turned to walk away, the grin melted off my face as the implications of what she’d said started to sink through my oft-over-thick skull.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentHas the world gone so sour that nobody smiles anymore? Was everyone just having a bad day? Was it a full moon? Had a red sky risen that morning?Let me back up and set the scene a little.This was several years ago, pre-pandemic. I was having a good day. I don’t remember why, exactly. But somewhere along the way, I decided I was in a good mood.The birds were chirping. The sun was shining. I walked through Walmart with a bounce in my step and an unassuming smile on my face.‘Thank you for smiling.’ A loaded sentence if I ever heard one. Imagine it being so unusual to see someone smiling that you feel the need to thank them for it. That’s depressing.What did I have to complain about, really?My family was safely accounted for and healthy. I was far from rich, but I had a roof over my head and food in the fridge. I had a career that, despite its many ups and downs, I enjoyed. I had a woman to love and keep life interesting. What more could a man ask for? Expecting more would be greedy.So, I retrieved the few items I’d gone in to purchase and took my place in the line to pay. I waited patiently, having nowhere pressing to be, and hummed a little tune in my head as I absently surveyed the magazine rack, catching up on what celebrities I couldn’t care less about were supposedly getting up to.Article contentBut I distinctly remember looking up at one point and remarking on how many frowning, impatient faces there were around me. Like everyone had some great undercurrent of anger just bubbling below the surface, waiting for one more inconvenience to bring it bursting out.Recommended from Editorial COLIN MACLEAN: What a snorefest COLIN MACLEAN: Just plant a garden already I’ve noticed Islanders tend to look that way a lot at the grocery store. It’s like it’s everyone’s most hated chore or something. Which, I guess depending on the circumstances, it might be.Anyway, I greeted the cashier, put my items down to be accounted for and made as much small talk as I thought they were interested in, which wasn’t much, but I smiled while I did it.My purchases made; I turned to go – and felt something stop me. I looked up to see an unknown, elderly woman had gently put her hand on my forearm.“Thank you for smiling,” she said softly, her face serious, without a trace of a smile of her own.There was such a sad, earnest look in her eyes as she said this. It broke my heart.Article contentWhat was she going through that she felt the need to say that to me, a scruffy-looking little man she didn’t know from a hole in the ground? Was she just tired of being around so many cranky shoppers or was there more to it?I think about her often. I hope she’s OK.Sometimes I wonder about her while I’m in the grocery store and despite whatever is going on in my life, however much I may want to be somewhere else at that moment, I smile.If not for myself, then maybe for someone else.Colin MacLean is the lead editor at the Journal Pioneer in Summerside. He can be reached at cmaclean@postmedia.com and followed on X @JournalPMacLean.Article content
COLIN MACLEAN: Thank you for smiling
