Copernicus' seditiously suggests Earth is NOT the center of our solar system. Is that a twinkle in his eye?

“What’s your take on that Zoe?” friend Marsha asked me. We belong to the same CSA. She referred to a new member. 

“She’s OK, I guess. Haven’t talked to her.” 

“I think she’s snooty.” 

“You do?” 

“I smile, say hello, and get ignored. Who does she think she is?!”

“You think she’s snubbing you?” I was surprised. 

“What else?”

“Come on!” 

Marsha raised an eyebrow.

“When she looks down and scurries by me, I think: shy, depressed, or maybe she grew up wild in the woods, this is her first exposure to people.

Or, maybe she’s just preoccupied, thinking heavy thoughts.”  

“She’s rude,” Marsha insisted. 

I shrugged. “Anyone whose eyes land on mine, I greet. If they don’t greet me back, so what? I’ve been well mannered. I’ve stretched myself against my own shyness. I’ve met my own standard.” 

“One brush-off, I’m done.”

“Really?!” I was astonished. “You’ll never greet Zoe again?” 

“Nope.” She was astonished back. “You would?”

“Well, sure. I’m assuming she’s more insecure than I am. Plus, you know, maybe she’s just having a bad day. Or a bad year.”

I look at Marsha searchingly. “We all crave acknowledgment, don’t you think?  Especially if we’re shy. In fact, your hurt reaction proves my point!” 

“Hmph!”

Look at this! Same event, two utterly different reactions. And here’s the critical point: Each reaction yields its own plan of action. 

Let me whip out my shrink magnifying glass for a closer look.