Well, how do you judge?

You can't judge a book by its cover.

That is such an over-used cliche that we often miss the wisdom in it -- telling us to look deeper, give it a chance, question, explore.

Living in our high-gloss, slicked-out, stars and stripes world, we are constantly stereotyping. And probably missing the joy because we are judging by the cover.

I was tempted to do it myself when I saw this boulangerie on the pock-marked Mont Vernon Avenue in St. Martin.

That's a bakery, believe it or not.

Now I love a hole in the wall restaurant. But that establishment. It just looked a little ... well ... scary.

Here's what we found inside.

That's A croissant fresh out of the oven (nothing like the grocery store variety).  A sticky, raisin and cream-filled bun and -- my favorite -- a brioche. The lady behind the counter kept trying to educate me in the correct pronunciation. "Breee-oshe." Wiki defines brioche: a pastry of French origin whose high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb.

Oh yeah. Made me forget all about the outside of the boulangerie.

My Dad once shared a lesson he learned at the old Roseberry Piano House in downtown Hattiesburg. Daddy was a young piano salesman. I bet he was slick and tie-wearing and friendly. An older fellow came in wearing overalls. He wanted a new piano for his daughter. My dad the city slicker began showing him used spinets and talking up the Roseberry "rent to own" plan.

But the sales pitch was all wrong. The customer wanted a gleaming new (and expensive) grand piano. After making his choice, Mr. Overalls reached into his bib pocket and pulled out the cash to pay in full.

Proving once again: You can't judge a customer by his overalls.

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1 Samuel 16:7  For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”