30-second Ego

It had been a long day at work. I was tired and the Texas heat mixed with rain was not helping my mood. I looked completely disheveled when I got home... make-up had worn off, hair was thrown back in a ponytail (typical once I've been at work for one hour max)... you get the picture. I promised myself I was going to get the passport ball rolling and had made plans to go to CVS that evening to get my photo taken. I manned up, threw on some make-up, ran a brush through my hair, and was off to the store. I walked around picking up a few random things, and made my way to the register. In came a friendly bum with a huge smile on his face, like he had just won the lottery. He takes one look at me and exclaims, "WOW, you're beautiful! Just beautiful!" He then proceeds to call the attention of other CVS customers telling them to look at me and asking them, "Isn't she just BEAUTIFUL?!" The others smile and nod awkwardly. I must admit, after the day I had, I was a tiny bit flattered. He came over and made me give him a pound with my fist. It was pretty amusing. I go on to pay for my things and ask to have a passport photo taken. The CVS employee takes me over to the photo booth and not even 30 seconds later, I hear my new friend exclaiming, "You're beautiful, just stunning!" I quickly look over to feel out the competition.... a woman in her 60's. 300+ lbs. Cane in one hand. 12-pack of Coca Cola in the other. Awesome.