The Necklace

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  “SHE WAS one of those pretty, charming young ladies, born, as if through an error of destiny, into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, appreciated, loved, and married by a man either rich or distinguished; and she allowed herself to marry a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. . . .  She had neither frocks nor jewels, nothing. And she loved only those things. She felt that she was made for them. She had such a desire to please, to be sought after, to be clever, and courted.” —THE NECKLACE Guy de Maupassant    France, 1884 (pic by Grok) Read this short story here:  https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace

Smile!

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 A smile is the effect that affects. And infects. A smile is a quiet greeting, or underscores sincerity in a spoken one. A smile rolls out the red carpet of hospitality and turns politicians into celebrities. It may seal a hard-earned victory or salt the wounds of the defeated. The frown of the worldly great is the smile of sophisticated majesty. Socrates’ executioners smiled down on him in vain-glory and he smiled back, stealing their joy. A smile disarms difficulty. It can be gracious or ghastly. It masks what is hidden in the heart, or unashamedly unleashes everything contained therein. A smile could just mean you are happy! Morning smiles on the earth and all things smile in return.


“You can smile when you can’t say a word

 You can smile when you cannot be heard

 You can smile when it’s cloudy or fair,

 You can smile anytime, anywhere.”






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