Must the smileys continually live in the half-light of other people's lols?

Many of us use smileys all the time in our various e-mailings. They are so easily available and they can do much of the work that used to be done by conscious written expression. Who could resist them? They're cute—more than cute, if such a quality had a name—and it seems as if every month there is a whole new stable of smileys, just for our amusement. Bashful, snarky, grumpy, doc, and the rest.

But is it all right simply to make use of them without considering their origins, their essence? Must the smileys continually live in the half-light of other people's lols, and have no word of their own?

We were able to track down a smiley at a photo shoot at Pier 21 last week. Call him Mr Smiley.

How does he feel about the process?

"I don't know. I mean, I never really wanted to be a smiley. It just kind of happened. I was short of cash. You know. And a guy came up to me and said, you know, try it out. I kinda didn't know what I was getting into. It was weird. I met all kinds of people. One time we were down for a shoot in Miami, and I was really out of control then, and you know that guy from 'Cheers', the—"

"Okay."