I couldn’t help myself, I had to start a complimentary thread to this one. I’ve been browsing it, and it’s an interesting read, but I found it kept bringing me down. Sometimes my eyes stung when I saw what cruel things people have overheard. How vicious people can be sometimes, how thoughtless and cruel.
So, I needed to start a happy thread. I know not everyone in the world is nasty and mean, and I know some of you have stories about people who said things about you that you overheard/got wind of second hand that made your chest swell with pride or your cheeks burn with unexpected but pleasant surprise.
So, to start, here’s one of mine:
A foreign exchange student from Germany I had met a few times was a very outgoing girl. I really liked her, and hoped we could become better friends someday. I wasn’t sure what she thought of me, because I am a very shy girl when I first meet people, and I was beginning to think she thought of me as a little wallflower, barely worth a thought. However, one day I was taking a walk, when I heard a male friend of mine talking to someone. I ran towards his voice, but before I got around the corner, I realised he was talking to the German exchange student (let’s call her Carolla). I stopped short of making the corner, not wanting to just butt into their conversation, and I overheard Carolla saying, loudly, “I just love Stasia! She is so super nice! And she always smells fruity!” (I usually wear moisturisers from the Body Shop or Bath & Body Works, and she later explained that this is what she meant by “smells fruity”.)
My laughter gave away my position, and she swoops around the corner, lifting me into a giant bear hug, saying “We were just talking about you!” We became pretty good friends, since I began to let my guard down for her after that. There was no question that she liked me just fine.
So tell me some *good * news you’ve heard about yourself.
I can’t think of one to add right now, although I am sure it has to have happened at least once in my life.
I just wanted to say thats a great story. Amazing how sometimes our own (wrong) sense of how we assume someone feels can really hold us back… without us even realizing it.
Once, I overheard a conversation between two of the ad sales reps at the newspaper where I worked.
SR 1: “You know, that MissGypsy in graphics must have been a model.”
SR 2: “Why?”
SR 1: “Look at her posture, and the way she carries herself. She’s so confident.”
Me, to myself: model? oh, well… (warm fuzzy feeling)
OK. I have a longstanding, though intermittent, professional affiliation with a singer-pianist whom I’ll call Stan Hope (the Stanhope being a NYC hotel where he used to perform).
Anyway, about 5 years ago I put together a big band to accompany Stan on two concerts. Shortly thereafter he gave me free tickets to one of his solo piano/vocal shows. Directly in front of us as the audience filed in were two people talking. One was a woman telling her male friend about the great band Stan had recently performed with!
I work at a long term care facility (like a nursing home). Yesterday after bringing a lady her dinner I overheard her saying, “that’s the first smile I’ve seen all day!”
GEN Fred Worner (The Commander-in-Cheif of Southern Command) said (Paul has) “The most flexible and creative mind I have ever encountered.” That was nice of him. A good man, Fred was. He deserved better.
model?