Glasses Maketh The Man

I've been wearing the same pair of glasses for the last couple of years, the rimless kind with thin lenses held together by two flimsy bits of metal. It's so light and inconspicuous that sometimes I forget that I even have them on. I guess some people don't notice either.

I realised this the other day when I found an old pair of specs that I had hidden in the drawer. They're the bookish kind, the type with the narrow black plastic frames that you often see geeky sorts wear. Suffice to say, these ones are very conspicuous. When I wore them to work this morning, I was surprised by the number of compliments I received from people about how good glasses suit my face and at the same time, confused by their asking if I've always had them before. Uhm, these are people I see every day.

On my lunch break, I popped over to the shops to buy the daily newspaper. Whenever I've come to the store, I always get the same chick at the counter with the dourest disposition. Of the times I've had her ring up the register for my paper, not once has she ever said hello or made any kind of small talk. And forget about her cracking a smile. That would just be one thing too much for her $10 an hour job.

But today when I came to pay, eager to just give her the money and get back to work, I had to stop and stare when she greeted me with not only a "hello" but also with a "how are you?". She was even smiling! I wondered what had caused her to be so friendly. Perhaps she got a raise, perhaps she got up on the right side of the bed that morning, or perhaps someone took pity on her and she got lucky the night before. Whatever it was, I was feeling curious and suspicious by the change in her demeanour. Until she said, "nice glasses".

I couldn't believe it. Can something as innocuous as spectacles really elicit that kind of change in people's reactions? Enough for them to go from Feral Beryl to Flirty Myrtle? I guess if today's experience is anything to go by, perhaps that could really be the case.

I've always considered them a bit of a nuisance but it seems glasses can - and sometimes do - maketh the man.

Monkey + glasses = mildly funny internet fodder