The power of a kind word

The Roommate has irons in many fires, and one of those fires was in town last weekend. This fire in particular is the manager of a comedy club in TR's home town and was in our area to check out some talent performing locally.

I caught up with them at a cafe on Monday, just for a quick chat, to say hello. In a somewhat rowdy mood, I was sarcastically slagging The Roommate a bit. At some point, I playfully quipped that Mr. Manager was cuter than The Roommate. Technically, this is not true, but in a certain sense, I did mean it at the time.

Mr. Manager's reaction has stayed with me all week. He flushed just for a moment, and he admitted that it was the first time anyone had ever said that about him. Given that he looks somewhat like a Jewish Keith Richards, with properly English teeth, I believe it was the first time anyone had said that.

I haven't discussed it with the roommate, but I sense that one flippantly flirtatious comment probably made that guy's day.

Such is the power of a kind word.