Random comments of kindness

I went in to Philadelphia on Sunday, still struggling with the remnants of a really unpleasant cold, but determined not to break the record I have set of seeing the Phikladelphia Museum Crafts Show every year.  It is one of the two best shows of its kind in the country, and relatively easy to get to.

I had to really talk to myself sternly to get myself on the way, so let's just say my level of enthusiasm was a tad lower than previous years.  As I was walking through the train station toward the Convention Center where the show is held, a middle-aged black man, dressed neatly but not effetely in jeans and a nice denim jacket, said to me out of the blue:  "You look so pretty."  I stopped  dead in my tracks and thanked him, at which point he said again, "You look so pretty," and then, gesturing at me, "And your outfit, your skirt . . .it all looks so nice." 

Well. I told him he looked pretty spiffy himself, and he laughed and said we were both doing our bit, and I walked on, feeling wonderful.

Here was a nice, regular guy, clearly compos mentis (or not a nut job, as they put it in the vernacular) who thought I looked so pretty he wanted to tell me, and even expand on it. He was complimenting me and my outfit, not some twenty-year old.  I felt so much lighter and positive as I walked into the craft show, so much more open to the day's experiences and to others.

I am reminded of someone I knew in another lifetime, Shia Zuber, who told me that angels are just ordinary people who for that moment are used by God to bring help and support to others.  I have always liked that idea, and feel I have encountered several angels during my life so far.  And this man, in his way, was an angel, an angel sent to remind me that the right people will always find me appealing and worthwhile.

Those aren't the correct words, but it is the best I can do at the moment.  It is such a complex feeling to convey without sounding simpleminded!  Or is it a simple feeling which takes a complex explanation?  It's all too much for me to unravel. 

Let me just end by saying:  Yay, God.