Michael Strahan makes a lot of money doing what he does now. I haven’t seen his portfolio, more than likely because he hasn’t granted me access to his finances. I will have to guess, but I think he makes more money now than he ever did playing football. The man is all over TV and I like him, good for him. I haven’t always been a Michael Strahan fan, especially when he was playing against my beloved Cowboys. I thought about when I became a fan of his or why and it hit me the other day that he has an amazing smile and he has learned to use it well. Stay with me here, yes, I am aware that he is a giant of a man and he is hard not to notice.
Michael has a gap in his front two teeth, an endearing gap that is hard to miss. When he smiles you know it, and he smiles seemingly all the time. I’m sure he has his bad days like all of us but when the camera is on, he appears to be the happiest man on the planet. Now, I have never been one to watch daytime TV, I’m usually out working trying to put a smile on my own face by keeping the bills paid but if I see him on TV I will stop for a minute and watch. He never disappoints, he brings the same enthusiastic energy every single time I see him. I wonder if I would ever notice his charisma or enjoy his smile and enthusiasm if he remained masked?
The firm answer is no. I’m certainly not trying be controversial but the body language aspect of life is important, especially the smiling part. It tells a person when to back off or speed up. When masks were mandated, it was so frustrating for me because I like to acknowledge people, friends, family and strangers and offer a little greeting. Sometimes when the mood strikes me, there is a smile that comes along with that acknowledgement. In return, I like a simple nod, quick grin, maybe even that simple manly quick nod of the head that indicates that you are really cool. In the larger scheme of things, it’s like a jackpot for me when I actually get a smile and verbal greeting back! It gives me some much-needed fuel for the day. I have bad moments or I get lost in thought or I just get lost and I don’t always practice the best congenial behavior but I try. I am good if you feel the need to wear a mask, I get it but don’t expect me to read your mood from the eyes up.
Clinched teeth, square jaw, scowl, frown, smile, grin, snarl or pucker, I won’t see any of them. To the person wearing the mask, maybe those things aren’t as important to you but they are sure important to me and the are even more important to kids. Kids learn so much from what they see and how they perceive the environment they are in. I live just a block away from my grandson’s and I see them literally every day. It is a certainty that every time is see them, I am overjoyed, I am filled with happiness and they can see it. If you hide my face with the mask, they won’t see the joy in my smile. The way I see it, the twinkle in my eye is activated by the smile on my face. I can’t imagine my 3-year-old grandson wearing a mask and me not being able to see if he is happy to see me too. What a bland gray world that would be. I am not ready to put on my bland gray outfit like everyone else and play the “hunger games” just yet so I will continue to defy the doomsday predictions for myself and everyone I come in contact with by not wearing a mask.
I am sure there are health benefits to wearing a mask and protecting yourself from loose cannons like me, so go ahead and wear one, it doesn’t bother me. The health risks to me are much greater if I wear one. I need to smile and to be smiled at. I need to speak and to be spoken to. My health depends on it.