A friend and I have been talking about giving compliments, and how they might be taken in an awkward way, but I’m going with – just say the nice thing. You might feel strange, but it’s got to have a good result most of the time.
Case in point: We had a little get-together at Annette’s house tonight, and being an adventurous soul (sorta), I decided to walk. (It’s not that far.) It was good, because I had a little wine, and it’s always safer to walk home than to drive.
So, walking back home I passed a house that had its stereo cranked up really loud, and stopped to wonder about that. Then I realized that is was a trumpet solo, then realized that it was a person really playing a trumpet. It was beautiful. I stood there on the sidewalk in the snowy cold and listened to two vaguely familiar hymns, then it started with a very soulful version of “How Great Thou Art”. I decided to say something and walked up to the door to ring the bell. The music stopped briefly, then continued to the end. I rang again, and an old man answered the door. (Whew. Not a muderer.)
“I was walking by and have been standing out here listening to you for a few minutes and I just wanted to tell you that it sounds beautiful.” He smiled and said that he plays every so often at the nursing home, and that his wife had passed away about a year ago, so he likes to play. “Well, this was the highlight of my night,” I told him.
“That’s what keeps me going,” he said as I walked away. Say the nice thing. You’ll feel good, too.