Appearances

Yesterday while getting the car tinted at Car-fi (yes, we are paranoid of theft again so we black out the cars for night and we are hopefully about to move to the always sunny Arizona were tint can be fully appreciated), I decided to meander the two hours of waiting time at Steak-N-Shake with a Chicken Fingers and Fries plate, a Mint Oreo Milkshake and my Biological Anthropology homework.

When leaving to pay the check an old male friend behind the counter noticed me and greeted me shyly saying "Gail Anderson, I thought that was you back there," and he asked a few forced questions through his shyness. His shyness then took control causing him to ask the cashier what else needed to be done next. This old friend then left to the storage room after smiling and saying goodbye. Once he was out of sight the cashier turned to me saying "so how do you know that guy?" almost as though quizzing me. Could my old friend have mentioned me to the cashier while I was sitting down? While smiling sincerely and happy to see my old friend I replied "I knew him in high school," only to be somewhat cut off by the cashier. "I just didn't think you would know someone like him. I mean he is a nice guy but..." he trailed off while looking at my physical features then quickly giving me the change and then proceeded to say goodbye with a happy attitude towards me, but in a tone and body language like he had just lost a bet. I left change in hand somewhat startled by what just happened trying to evaluate the situation.

Has the world become so vain? I am not the most attractive person in the world, but I was and am still considerably more attractive than my old friend. But what does that matter? How could the cashier from my looks alone imply I was somehow above my once close peer? It is so sad to think in today's world a good heart only comes second to looks.

I wish I would have come about quicker to defend my old friend. I wish I would have told the cashier how the companion and I hung out in his run down trailer park, although I myself lived in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Springfield, and we truly enjoyed each others company. In middle school and high school I had high grades, many hobbies, a decent social status, and a good reputation. He had low grades, low self esteem, no hobbies, no one hardly noticed him other than to insult him and he got into trouble for small things. But he had a good heart and he put up with a lot of ill founded judgements put upon him because of how he looked and the financially poor lifestyle he lived.

It is an old over used clique but "don't judge a book by it's cover," has a lot of wisdom in it. Appearances are merely that, the way some one APPEARS.