signs of spring

Belgrade’s winter-that-wasn’t heated up again yesterday, which means that there were even more leafleters in the street.

They congregate at the tops of stairways and other pedestrian-friendly zones, passing out slips of paper to nearly everyone who passes by. I usually can’t walk to work without being offered a stack of papers with ads for parties or boutiques on them. I used to be offended when I received ones for Tai-Bo classes, but I realized that they are vastly outnumbered by the number advertising English classes. If they only knew… I chuckle to myself.

It surprises me how many leafleters there are. I’m hardly a business strategist, but I wouldn’t think that leafleting is a particularly effective marketing technique. No one seems to look at the flyers. Most people either don’t take them or throw them away immediately.

I nearly always take the leaflets. After all, it’s what George Orwell says to do. I make a special effort to take the slips if the leafleters are over 40, which is rare. Most of the leafleters are younger than I am. I can't articulate it, but there is something really sad about middle-aged people handing out slips of paper all day long.