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 The Value of a Smile.

About 6 decades ago, as a young man, I was walking along an omnibus island in Cathedral Square in Christchurch, New Zealand. I don't know that they have them there any more, but an omnibus island was a small narrow strip of pavement that 'busses could stop, clear of other traffic, for collecting or alighting passengers. 
This day I walked past an elderly lady who moved so gloomily, I immediately felt compassion on her. As she caught my eye I gave her the broadest smile that I could muster. 
I had hardly walked more than a few paces away from her when she turned and caught up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. She thanked me for the smile, saying that it was the very gift that she needed to brighten her day. 
She went on to explain that she had been contemplating ending her life and had decided that no-one cared even enough to smile at her. She asked me for a hug and as I gave her one she assured me that she had changed her mind about stepping under the next 'bus that came along.
-- Lionel Hartley