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The Eskimos (though I’m pretty sure that term is no longer considered acceptable) have over 50 words for snow. That’s a lot. I know because I grew up in Minnesota, so I consider myself an expert on snow. But even I don’t know 50 words for it. In fact, I only used one word for snow until my early teens. That word was “snow”.
Then I learned to cuss and with that knowledge came the additional knowledge that there are many other types of snow. For example, there’s “damn snow”, “God-damned snow”, and after I had gotten my car stuck for the 20th time one winter, I learned there’s such a thing as “fucking snow”.
The reason that Eskimos have so many words for snow is because it’s a pretty important part of their life. Maybe not so much anymore because they have Gore-tex and snowmobiles just like the rest of us. But back when they didn’t have those things, it was useful to know exactly what kind of snow you might be dealing with. Because apparently there are more than 50 different types of snow. And each type is subtly different. The point is, the more important something is, the more accurate you want to be in describing it.
My wife and I went grocery shopping the other day. It was a pretty big store. We were the only two people not wearing masks. The policy in this county is that masks are required indoors. But nobody is enforcing the policy. So, I keep my mask in my pocket and make someone that works at whatever store I’m in to tell me to put it on. That day, nobody said a peep.
As my wife paid for our groceries, I was responsible for bagging them. I happened to glance up and saw a guy a few feet away also not masked. I almost said “unmasked” but that implies we were masked, and then we weren’t. No, the correct term is “not masked”.
We looked at each other and then simultaneously shook our heads and smiled. In that instant, we knew exactly what each other was thinking. Without saying a word.
I noticed that a woman who was presumably his wife was placing the groceries on the belt, and she was not masked as well. I suspect there was a little “birds of a feather” thing going on and they felt safer getting behind us in line because they knew we weren’t going to start ragging on them for not tying a rag around their face.
I started thinking about things, as I often do, and about how much information is lost because most people have their faces covered. What kind of damage is being done to kids when almost everybody they interact with is wearing a mask? Being able to read faces and emotions is sort of important. And, if kids are only exposed to a few uncovered faces, how are they going to be able to learn to read the subtle changes in facial expressions that make up a large portion of our ability to communicate with each other?
I’m thinking they’re ether going to become great poker players, or terrible ones. I haven’t decided yet which.
Sarcasm is lost on most people. Unfortunately, I happen to be a very sarcastic person. It’s my go-to attitude. I say it’s unfortunate that I often use sarcasm because, over the past year and a half, I learned something very important. As long as someone can see my face, specifically my smile, they can usually tell that I’m joking or kidding around. But if they can’t see my smile, then I just seem like a dick.
Oh sure, my eyes crinkle a bit when I smile, but they crinkle the same amount if I grimace or smirk. The eyes alone are a poor indication of what’s going on in someone’s head.
So, after my encounter with the only other two not-masked people in the store, I started thinking about smiling, which got me thinking about different types of smiles, which got me thinking about Eskimos and all their words for snow and then I got back to thinking about smiles again. That’s just a little peek inside my head. I generally always get from Point A to Point B, just not on the path that most people take.
I wondered how many different kinds of smiles there are. It turns out that there are a bunch. I’ve found sources that say there are anywhere from 10 to 19 different types of smiles. And, just like the Eskimos and snow, knowing which type of smile you’re seeing is pretty important. A smile doesn’t necessarily mean happiness because not all smiles occur when we’re having a good time.
You smile when you’re feeling good. But you also smile when you’re nervous, embarrassed or afraid. You smile when you’re just being polite. But you also smile when you feel a sense of superiority over someone, and when you’re lying.
Each one of those smiles is subtly different. But if someone is wearing a mask, they all look pretty much the same.
I want you to think back before all this mask craziness was put in place. Before people abandoned logic, reason and science to blindly follow government mandates. If you went to the grocery store, how many times would someone smile at you. I’ll bet it was dozens. Now? Not so much. Well, you might be seeing lots of smiles. But you’ll never know. Because you can’t see them.
Because of the knee-jerk lockdowns and other panic-stricken mandates, we’ve lost a lot over the past year. Most people have lost the ability to think for themselves. Those that faithfully wear their masks have lost the ability to communicate a thousand words with just the right smile.
Those of you still wearing masks, have lost the ability to smile and nod knowingly at a stranger who knows, just like you do, that wearing a mask is ridiculous. And, because you’re smile is covered, I’ve lost the ability to determine if you’re being sarcastically witty, or just being a dick.
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