3 p.m. Stopped for gas on 95 South at a rest area. I said to gas attendant, “Fill it up with regular, please.” He was a short Hispanic man, as short as he was wide. He said, “Someone like you – beautiful woman – beautiful car – should only buy SUPER because YOU are Super!” I started laughing – and he pointed at the directions on the gas tank – and where it said, “Lift nozzle”, he said – pretending to read it out loud, “If beautiful woman drives up, she get 50% off.” He was basically overwhelming me with compliments. As I drove off, I called out the window, “Thank you!” and I heard his voice come back, “Bye bye, beautiful lady!”
5:15 pm Drove to a home-goods store near my house to stock up on this rose oil I have recently discovered for my oil-burning lamp. I bought it at this same store – I had gone in there just looking for incense a couple of days ago. It is run by a very nice family from China (I got their whole life story in the 10 minutes I was there.) The younger woman pointed out a lamp to me and told me why it was so good. She was a brilliant saleswoman. I bought it. So now – I need to re-stock on the rose oil I like. I walked in and now it was the father, sitting behind the counter. I went right to the counter and picked up a big bottle of rose oil. We started chatting about my new lamp. I told him how much I liked it and how I am a huge fan. The bottle of oil was $20.33. I gave him $25.00 and he handed me back the five saying, “You beautiful. You pay me 33 cents later.”
5:30 I stopped off at the wine store to get a bottle of wine. The guy in front of me in line was Italian and telling the man behind the counter about how he’s from Italy and they had their own secret recipe for whatever drink it was back home in Italy and he was going to make it for the holidays. He wasn’t being noticeably a pain in the ass, but he certainly was not hurrying up the end of the conversation even though I was in line behind him. Then he walked off and I went up to the counter. The fat balding Italian man behind the counter smiled at me, and I said, “How are you?” He said, “Much better now, beautiful.”
I considered asking him for a discount, just to see what I could get away with, wielding my newfound beauty that had been stunning men of all accents up and down the eastern seaboard in the last 2 hours. I have no explanation. I had been crying yesterday, so I looked a wreck. I was wearing sunglasses, my hair in a messy ponytail, I had on a baggy Red Sox T shirt, black leggings and a big bulky sweater. I didn’t look as bad as this:
but I was pretty darn close.
However, for a brief 2 and a half hours, I was the most beautiful woman in the world, apparently.
It was nice. Made the day full of smiles.
Isn’t is nice that there are still people that are nice and kind and happy? And those people pass along that feeling just to spread some of that happiness?
You know, I read this, and there’s a small part of me that is envious. It is only because, several years ago, I had a woman at a country gas station, who was all of 63 years, 12 teeth and too many sheets to the wind to be working with the public greet me at the counter with a “Hey, Sexy.”
At first, I didn’t think I’d heard her right.
Then, instead of searching for sarcasm that was probably as obvious as gaps in her front teeth, I decided that quiet and sincere gratitude and a hasty exit, in that order, were the classiest ways to meet that particular greeting…
There is something just so….gentlemanly? I dunno… is that the word I want? about those men, and those compliments that were paid. You just don’t hear them very much anymore these days, and it is a crying shame. Good for them! Good for you!!
Well, personally, I prefer women with non-rectangular eyes, but that’s just me.
Seriously, most women are more beautiful than they think… even after almost 20 years of marriage, I look at my wife and marvel why a girl that pretty decided to marry a guy like me.
“non-rectangular eyes” hahahahaha
Beth – it was so gentlemanly – really was nice and friendly and made me feel good!
Not a comment about your “beautiful” two hours, but a note to congratulate you on this magnificent (and deep) blog. I got here because I just saw Persona for the first time and was confused by it– so, I surmised, were you–and I wanted to know what the hey. I Googled and got you. It took me a while to locate the Persona paragraphs. But the search was engrossing.
I’ve been here about an hour and can find no end to the stuff I want to read about. I’ll be back.
MY fave movie, unmentioned as far as I can tell, is Stairway to Heaven (US title), also known as A Matter of Life and Death. David Niven, Kim Hunter, and the great Roger Livesey. Have you seen it?
BTW, I love the way you write.
Rowland – what an awesome comment. I’m glad you found my blog! Persona is one of the most wrenching movies I’ve ever seen. The scene where Bibi Anderson, the nurse, tells the story of what happened to her on the beach – I mean, what?? So good!
I have not seen the movie you mention – although I LOVE all of those actors! I’ll see if it’s on Netflix!