# Summary

A simple act of kindness, a smile from a cashier, transformed the author's anger into happiness, preventing a curse and metaphorically saving a town from "crotch demons."

# Abstract

The author recounts a day filled with frustration due to hunger, traffic, and a lack of parking, which culminated in an irrational curse directed at innocent drivers. However, upon encountering a friendly cashier at a bakery named Breads Unlimited, the author's mood shifted dramatically. The cashier's genuine smile and pleasant demeanor led to a moment of connection that dispelled the author's wrath and averted the imagined curse of "incurable crotch demons," highlighting the profound impact of a simple act of kindness.

# Opinions

- The author believes that a single smile can have a significant positive impact on someone's day.
- The author emphasizes the importance of being genuinely nice without expecting anything in return.
- There is a suggestion that small acts of kindness, such as smiling, can have far-reaching "ripple effects."
- The author reflects on the power of empathy and human connection in diffusing negative emotions.

How A Single Smile Saved A Town From Incurable Crotch Demons

Be randomly nice. You never know the ripple effects.

Once upon a time, hanger and road rage had a baby.

And the baby was ME.

This is my story. *dun dun*

In Which Scheduling Mistakes Were Made

My loves, two days ago I made a MAJOR TACTICAL ERROR.

I tried to do driving-errands hungry.

This was a mistake.

Right before I had my lunch (mistake #1) I headed into a pretty traffic-heavy and parking-light part of town to drop off a friend’s clothes at a consignment shop (she’s downsizing). And as I pulled into the area, I realized that I hadn’t realized that this already parking-light part of town had a lot of construction going on (mistake #2).

Two seconds later, it dawned on me that oh right, the high school around here has open lunch (mistake #3). Because dude, high schoolers. High schoolers everywhere. You know who doesn’t have all that much respect for crosswalks and traffic lights?

You get three guesses, and the first two don’t count.

So as I was driving around, dodging teenagers, getting hungrier by the second, and futilely searching for parking to run my errand, I felt something. Something unusual. Something I don’t usually feel.

It was…wrath.

Not rage. Not anger. Straight, unmitigated, dracarys-on-dragonback WRATH.

Half an hour into this ordeal, I gave up the hunt for parking. And as I drove away, some cars were between me and the turn I wanted to make. They weren’t out of line. They didn’t cut me off. They were just there.

And so I audibly and ragefully wished them to be cursed for life with incurable crotch demons.

It was not my finest moment.

A Town Is Saved With A Smile

Immediately post-curse-bestowing, I pulled into a little outdoor shopping mall because omg, they have to have food. And they did! A store named Breads Unlimited with (you guessed it) breads and pastries.

I walked in, decided that I NEEDED the ham and cheese croissant, and walked up to the cash register. And there my savior awaited.

The guy behind the cash register was obviously in a decent mood. He was nice. He gave me a genuine smile and asked how my day was going.

And in the middle of my wrath and hanger and frustration, there was no way in hell I was going to kill this nice dude’s smile. So I smiled back and said, “you know, it’s going!”

And with that smile back, my entire mood changed. It was like shrugging off an angry coat. Because this nice guy gave me a real smile and asked how it was going, my wrath was extinguished. My rage abated. The crotch demons were banished back to the netherworlds from whence they came.

Guys, never never underestimate the power of a smile at the right moment. Will you always get a smile back? Probably not, you never know what’s going on. But it doesn’t hurt or cost anything to be genuinely nice and smile at someone, and you also never know how much that smile might help.

Case in point: with one single smile, my day was salvaged and the town was saved.

Far below, in a cage: * the crotch demons mutter angrily*

Writer Karen Schwartz shares a similar story in the hilariously titled Don’t Get Your Knickers In A Knot. Again, a stranger’s random act of kindness can totally turn around someone’s day!