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I went to the old man's service yesterday and was presented with a compliment that I couldn't deal with.
Before services began, there was the line of mourners which everyone met with, and shook hands with and kissed and hugged. During this time, I met his widow. At first I was introduced by a family member who didn't know me very much, but a second after I'd moved just past her, someone mentioned something about me to her, and she lit up.
Oh, Tony! You're the eBay person!
Ah yes, that's me.
You know he talked about you a lot. He really liked you.
A compliment from the dead man lying in a coffin ten feet behind me. I'm not saying this to brag, repeating a compliment about myself. I'm saying it because it's part of the story.
I was instantly frozen by this. I've learned to accept compliments with a variation of "That's nice of you to say!" It both accepts the compliment, and turns it around to compliment the person saying it. It is nice of them to say.
In this case, it was nice of him to say... except that he wasn't saying it. It was twice as nice for his widow to say it. It was a moment of flattery, confusion, and grief all at the same time. A feeling I've never experienced before. I think I managed a stumbled thank you of some sort.
And then I began to cry.
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