Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

Living in a rural area, I rarely get the chance to spend the day in a bookstore without my kids, which is a fun (but totally different) experience.  Today was one of those rare occasions.  Sitting in the book store, I was surrounded by more books than I could count, immersed in an endless supply of entertainment and knowledge.  Many of the books were ideally suited to my interests, while many others were not.  However, I have a profound appreciation for all books because I know that each one holds great value to someone.

I went to the bookstore to do some research on getting my own books published (see photo above).  It was recommended to me by a friend who had a brilliant idea for a book, and after a lot of rejection, persevered and finally got it published by one of the biggest publishers in the industry.  I am proud of what he has accomplished, and extremely thankful for all of the advice and assistance that he is providing to help me join him in the ranks of published authors.

My friend and I met for lunch yesterday to discuss my book ideas.  We hadn’t seen each other in a while, but we picked up right where we left off years ago when we worked in the music industry together.

While we were driving, we passed the storefront that used to belong to the photography studio that my wife and I used to photograph our wedding years ago.  I was sorry to see that it was no longer there, but that feeling quickly turned to outrage when my friend pointed out that the restaurant on the other side of the street refused to seat him, his wife and their young daughter for lunch recently because of his looks.

Although there were plenty of empty seats in the restaurant, there were none available for a successful, published author who happens to hold a high-level marketing position with an entertainment company.  In his spare time, he is launching his own line of hot sauces and promoting a concert tour that he created.  With a resume like that, who could blame the restaurant for humiliating my friend and his family by refusing to allow them the privilege of dining in their hifalutin establishment?

After all, despite his many accomplishments, my friend is guilty of having long hair and tattoos that are not hidden by clothing.  I guess it’s irrelevant to the owners of the restaurant that many of their “appropriate” clientele probably have strategically placed tattoos that they only expose when they want to show their wild side.

Did my friend look like the few other patrons who were in the restaurant at the time?  No, but he was dressed the same as others who were deemed worthy enough to serve.  And I’m pretty sure that his money was the same shade of green as the other patrons as well.

Given the choice, I would rather eat fast food on the curb with my friend than ever set foot inside of a restaurant who thinks nothing of judging a book by its cover.