Bigge Blurbs

Sheila Heti, author of Ticknor

“You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile,” from the Annie soundtrack (1982)

Last year, I spent the summer in Williamsburg. One day, I decided to play a game as I walked to the L train. I smiled at everyone I passed. No one smiled back. So I played it the next day, and the next, always with the same result: a slight raise of the chin and a glance away. Give me a break, darlings! Don’t you remember Annie? There’s only one antidote to your misguided attitude: “Who cares what they’re wearing/On Main Street or Savile Row/It’s what you wear from ear to ear/And not from head to toe/That ma-ah-ah-ters.”