Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Nice Things to Yell at Strangers

This summer, I was walking down Central Ave in Dover with Andrew, and a twenty-something man leaned out of his car window to yell something at us.

Ahem.

I should say, the man leaned out of his car window to yell something at Andrew, because what came out of his mouth was, "Your girlfriend is very beautiful!"

This was funny on multiple levels. It also ranks as the nicest catcall I have ever received.

Recently, I was driving in the car with Andrew and another twenty-something walked in front of us. Something about him was incredibly attractive, and we spent a few moments detailing exactly what we liked about him, from his jacket to his gait to the bag he was carrying. As we were driving away, Andrew yelled, "Hey! Hey! I like your deal!" and although the window was up and the fashionable young man probably heard nothing, we got to thinking about compliments from strangers.

There are creepy compliments from strangers, of course. Kili often gets, "I like your hair. You look exotic. Where are you from?" which is not only creepy but vaguely offensive. But what Andrew and I are interested in are the nice things that you can yell at strangers, the things that people will remember from months afterward because they were genuine and sincere, or sometimes because they were more polite than usual catcalls are.

Here's our plan:

Step 1. Start tumblr
Step 2. Write down nice things to yell at strangers
Step 3. PROFIT!

4 comments:

Ian D said...

I still remember being totally taken aback when I was walking through the mall like six years ago and this guy stopped and said (obviously sincerely, not messing with me), "Wow! I really like your shirt! Where did you get that shirt?" It was just some Strokes tee shirt from Hot Topic (yeah, I shopped at Hot Topic when I was eighteen, WHAT OF IT). Compliments from strangers are awesome.

i am madame said...

I was in Paris with Rémy at some point during some summer and we were heading toward the Seine from Gare de Lyon when this middle age guy walking with some young chick on his arm stopped me and said, "My GOD you have the most beautiful feet I have ever seen!" I don't think I've ever been as unsure how to react. I looked down to make sure my feet hadn't somehow been beautified during our train ride and verified that yes, they were normal kindof-dirty feet in reef sandals with old red nail polish that was months old peeling off on my big toes. I smiled politely and laughed nervously and nodded, planning to keep walking.

But the story doesn't end there. He followed us all the way to the Seine, telling me he was a photographer and begging me to let him take pictures of my feet.

Suffice it to say, since that day, no matter how mind-numbingly hot it may be, I ALWAYS wear closed-toe shoes in Paris.

Ashley said...

chels-maybe not such a nice thing to yell at a stranger? :) close-toed shoes in paris FROM NOW ON!

Chelsea said...

TUMBLR!!!!!!