Most people aren’t unfriendly, they are friendly waiting to happen. Maybe you learned this lesson a long time ago. Maybe I missed that episode of Sesame Street; maybe they taught in afternoon kindergarten (I went in the morning); maybe it was one of the days I was home with the chicken pox. Whatever. I’m learning it late in life.

Walking north on 18th Street through Adams Morgan tonight, I saw the Compliment Man at his usual post, near the corner storefront recently vacated by Shake Your Booty. The first time I saw the Compliment Man, I was wearing an orange shirt, and had recently declared orange my new favorite color. “That color looks great on you!” the Compliment Man said. I was shocked to find the universe apparently synchronized with my most trivial whims. A week later, I walked by the Compliment Man with E. This time he said, “Hey, you guys look great together!” Right. I’m a quick study. I was a little deflated that there wasn’t anything extraordinary about me in my orange shirt. But once I got over it, I was delighted by the concept of the Compliment Man.

“Good evening, you look very nice!” he exclaimed tonight.

“Thank you, you too!” I replied with a smile.

“You’re both wearing smiles! That’s nice, I’m the compliment man . . .” He bounced a little in his dirty sneakers, clapped his hands, and turned an eye to the next pedestrians.

I turned to the woman behind me, who was also walking alone. “It’s true. He is the Compliment Man.”

“Damn, you’ve ruined it for me,” she said. She had a British accent. “Just when I thought I was looking good.”

“It took me twice to catch on. But there are worse things he could be doing. And he’s not even asking for money.”

“It must be rough in winter. ‘You look nice in that puffy anorak.’”

We ran out of things to say about the Compliment Man.

“I’m not sure where I’m going,” she said, “It’s somewhere with a big fish tank. Across from Tryst.”

“Ah. You’re going to the Reef,” I said. “There’s the doorman there, in black.”

”Oh dear. I hope I can get in. I am looking nice tonight, though.” We laughed and she presented herself to the doorman and I walked on uphill, toward home.