Debates of all ilk

[Alex]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

He does need to practice smiling in the mirror; every time I see him flash that taut sort of grimace he thinks passes as a smile I get concerned about his fiber intake.

To be fair (and I don't like his grimace either), the left side of his face is covered in scar tissue from melanoma surgeries; among other things after the 2000 campaign he had lymph nodes and some muscle tissue removed from that side. The scars aren't obvious because he's usually wearing make-up when you see him, but he does have a loss of mobility on one side of his face.

Admittedly, this causes him to have a smile that looks off. Just like his POW injuries make it difficult for him to raise his arms (and his jaw was broken then as well which may also contribute to the smile) which gives him a very odd walk and stance.

So yeah, I have a visceral negative reaction but I try to remind myself that it is kind of like laughing at a hairlip and that it isn't really important anyway since the way you smile isn't really an indicator of what kind of person you are.

Here's a picture of him shortly after one of his facial surgeries.