[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-150697-en":3,"doc-seo-150697-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":20,"language":21,"language_code":22,"site_id":23,"html_lang":22,"table_of_contents":24,"faqs":25,"seo_title":26,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},150697,1374391974468,"Eden","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0",1,"Story & Novel","The Smiling Man - read online story","A young boy, Dresden, notices a man who always sits alone on a picnic table with a constant smile, and curiosity drives him to approach him on a quieter weekday. Their conversation turns the smile into a revelation: Harlan, the man, insists he is an artist whose “work” happens through stillness and presence. As Dresden tests assumptions about bums and money, Harlan’s calm confidence reframes the meaning of labor, understanding, and genuine attention.","The Smiling Man  \nby Harry Hogbosch  \nThe boy sat and wondered what the man was doing, just sitting there, looking at things, touching nothing with his hands waving in the air, ever still, on that picnic table, with a perpetual look of appreciation on his face, and that clumsy, silly-hearted smile plastered all over him.  \nI know why I come to the park, thought the boy. I come here to ride my bike, play with Johnny and the boys, take Ranger out for walks (Ranger was the dog ofall dogs, a Shepherd with every bit of dog love and play oozing out of him that made his species what it is), and take walks with the family and have Barbecues, but he is always alone.  \nHe just sits there. Sits on top of the table, his feet planted on the bench, leaning forward on his knees and watching everything, smiling.“Maybe he’s a bum,” one of the gang spoke up.“Nah, I’ve seen plenty of bums,” the boy replied.“He’s not dirty enough, and besides bums hardly ever smile.” At least not as much as this guy, the boy thought. He looks like he’s caught in a dream or something. Maybe he’s crazy…  \nLike most young boys, Dresden’s curiosity seethed in him and he resolved to approach the strange man on Sunday afternoon, when the park was crowded and his whole family was with him and if anything went wrong he had plenty of outs.  \nHe wasn’t there on Sunday though, and Dresden felt a wave of disappointment. He had diligently prepared all sorts of introductions in his mind. But like it always is in those glorious days of youth, nothing sticks to you for that long and the world always presented ways to gather up all the pleasure and joy one can muster without too much effort.  \nIt didn’t take long before Dresden figured out that the man didn’t visit the park on weekends, but only on those quieter, less eventful weekdays, like a Tuesday or Wednesday in the hours before heat and just after the swift cool of morning, while everyone else in the world was either at work or school.  \nDresden felt less brazen on those days. But little by little he got closer to striking up an excuse for conversation. Something about the man just struck at the heart of Dresden. He had to understand what that smile was all about. Petulant curiosity of youth hounded him. It was like the man was in on a secret no one else knew. Dresden hated secrets. It wasn’t until the man turned that smile on Dresden that he felt his mouth open involuntarily and words came forth like escaped convicts.  \n“Hello,” said Dresden, like he was caught in a spell, not sure what he was saying at all.“My name is Dresden.”  \nThe man smiled wide.“Hello, Dresden.” His voice was low, soothing, like a flute knocked up a Tuba and the offspring this man’s voice.“I am Harlan.”  \nDresden wasn’t sure what he would say next, but he didn’t feel rushed at all. He felt unusually at ease. So he went for it.  \n“Are you a bum?”  \n“I am an artist.”  \n“An artist? Like a painter?”  \nHarlan smiled.“Sure, something like that.”  \n“I never see you painting out here like the other guys who look out at the ocean and paint.”  \n“I never paint when I’m at work.”  \nDresden’s eyebrows tensed confusion.“All I ever see is you sitting on that table there doing nothing,” he said.  \n“I’m doing everything while I sit here on this table.”  \n“You don’t look like a bum, but my daddy says a man that does nothing is a bum.”  \nHarlan laughed.“Your father is right.”  \n“So, you are a bum?”  \n“No, I am not a bum.”  \n“But, you just said you were didn’t you?”  \n“I said I was working.”  \n“Working? What kind of work you in? Suntannin’ work?”  \n“I’m an artist,” Harlan said, smiling, enjoying every second of the encounter.“I sit here, yes it's true. It may seem like I’m doing nothing but I’m actually doing everything. Everything I need for my line of work.”  \n“Sitting on a picnic table is part of your work?” Dresden said, with every bit of youthful investigation pouring out of him.  \n“Absolutely,\" Harlan said with soft confidence. \"The most important part of the work","cbCaikbpQAgDNwqf","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaikbpQAgDNwqf","pdf",270743,15,"English","en",105,"# The man on the picnic table\n## Dresden’s curiosity and approach\n## Conversation about identity and work","[{\"question\":\"Why does Dresden want to talk to the man?\",\"answer\":\"Dresden repeatedly sees the man sitting alone with the same smile, and his curiosity about what the smile means forces him to approach him on a weekday.\"},{\"question\":\"What does Harlan say his “work” is?\",\"answer\":\"Harlan says he is an artist and that while it may look like he is doing nothing, he is actually doing everything needed for his line of work.\"},{\"question\":\"How does Dresden’s view of the man change during the conversation?\",\"answer\":\"Dresden starts by wondering if Harlan is a bum, but Harlan’s calm explanations and playful dialogue shift the encounter into something more meaningful and personal.\"}]","The Smiling Man - 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