The nicest compliments I've ever received.

1.

I was maybe 23, living back in my home state for a little while as I recovered from shoulder surgery. I was getting back into running and while I never look the Runner type, I looked strong. As I was walking home on a sunny day, an elderly black man was walking in the opposite direction and he took a look at my short orange dress and nicely said, "Those are some fine legs you're showing off there." I felt about 10 feet tall and I'm pretty sure I blushed.

2.

The middle of winter in small town Alaska, with a storm outside and almost no one in the cafe. Doc's friends hadn't shown up to jam, and he looked kind of forlorn playing the guitar by himself. I volunteered to sing with him though I warned him that I didn't know many songs. At the end he said to me, "I'll tell you what, at least you've got guts."

3.

A friend who was notoriously narcissistic (and to be fair, he was a finalist for both the Gates and Rhodes scholarships) heard that I was surprised to have received some recognition in my college department. "Why are you surprised?" he asked, "You're really smart. I think you may be as smart as me."

I recognized it for the high praise that he meant it to be.