The Price of a Smile

How much do you think a smile would cost?  What value would you assign to a smile given to you?  How would you calculate the residual effect of seeing a smile?

Would you pay .05 (five cents US)?  That’s the price a parent in Luxor would pay for one balloon.  Ah, no problem you say.  It’s a very small price, except in Luxor it might be the choice between something to eat and a balloon for your child.

This idea started when I tossed some balloons from my balcony to kids in the street below.  The resulting whoops and yells resulted in the remaining balloons floating from my balcony.

 

The lightbulb lit up like a searchlight!  What if I could give balloons to more kids?  Distribution was the issue.  If I walked through the street I would be mobbed!

Mustafa behind the balloons.

Ahh, of course, enlist Mustafa and the carriage.  He was definitely up for this.  What he didn’t know was that he was going to help me blow up 400 balloons on two separate days and give them to the children.

 

It began in a relatively small way but quickly escalated to a mob scene.  Children came streaming out of buildings like red ants on the march. These kids didn’t need a cellphone to spread the word, they just yelled “balloon”.

Million dollar smiles

Another bag of balloons emptied.

Obviously it wasn’t only the kids who were smiling. We had a great time with the balloons as well.

And along with us, there were smiles from parents, grandparents and neighbors.  Along the street we even got smiles and thanks from store owners and people on the street.

Drivers of several “jitneys” stopped when passengers yelled out. We shared balloons with people who had kids in tow.

So, again, the question, “what price do you put on a smile?”

We calculated that with 400 balloons we could have generated more than 2,000 smiles.  That, divided by the price of four bags of balloons told us that the smiles of children are priceless.

When was the last time you caused someone to smile?  Simple things like telling a stranger on the street how cute, beautiful, interesting, creative or colourful their hat, shirt, shoes, umbrella or jacket is.  When did you tell a store employee their attitude was great? Have you ever noticed how a woman’s face lights up when you compliment a hairstyle?

Make someone’s day, generate some smiles.

Smiles, like yawns are reciprocal.  Share yours today.

People we passed on the street smiled and waved to us as Mustafa drove the carriage to the Karnak neighborhood.