From Bozeman a few thought by Big Frank on returning to the Queen City of the Prairie. Many may be thinking that this surely is a preamble leading into a nostalgic reverie on the distant Dickinsonian past. Think again - Big Frank is not that kind of guy. He does not seek solace in a flowery version of the past. As the saying goes: "what was was" and it goes without saying that what is - is. Yeah, baby - what it is! Ok - enough tom-foolery.
Topic on Big Frank's mind as he returns to the cradle of his youth - smiles! That's right the ol baring of the pearly whites. Big Frank wonders why is it that when a person's likeness is captured via camera - that there is a perceived obligation to smile. This is a new phenomena - when photos first appeared on the scene - nobody smiled! Take a look at Lincoln, for example. Is there one picture of a smiling Lincoln? Not one. What about Grant? Not one. Ok, how about Woodrow Wilson - show me one. And, for the record Teddy Roosevelt does not count - he, for reasons that nobody has really ever accounted for had his face in a permanent smile. I think it goes back to the winter of 1889 when he was rounding up strays in the North Dakota badlands - he rode out smiling - as usual - and got caught in a snow storm - the smile stuck and the the rest is history - so Teddy is an aberation. Also look at the pictures of the Native Americans -were they smiling? Show me one picture of a smiling Native American and I'll show you traitor. It is culturally unique to the pleasing cultures of the world - the hypocrites and pollyannas. However - having said that, what about the Buddha smile? That one throws me for a loop. Let's say that the Buddha smile doesn't count, because it's not for the camera. So when did the smile take hold. I think that is a question for our good readers. When did the smile become obligatory? I await your comments.
Mark your calendars - tomorrow Big Frank Dickinson enters Dickinson. Will there be a welcoming parade? Will he be given the key to the city? Will anybody notice? Does anybody care?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Well...maybe people are happier now..becasue life is so much better...or not...
Or maybe with the absence of the oppression and repression of the past, people are allowed to show themselves more intimately through their eyes and smiles? Progress??
Post a Comment