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"You're beautiful!"

The first time it happened, I was squinting at my computer, trying to get my e-mail to work at my new job.
I blushed, ear to ear, and thought that Scripps Howard's Washington bureau might not be a bad place to work -- even though I was missing my coworkers at the Times Record News.

Just across the aisle from me here at the bureau sits one of the biggest brains in Scripps Howard. I'll leave the reporter's identity secret to give him his privacy.
But I'm in awe of his powers of perception and his journalistic prowess.
When I first came to bureau the resident IT god was on vacation, and I had to take a backdoor route to get to e-mail. It was slow and scary.
It was while waiting for my e-mail to load -- and hoping it would -- that I first heard a phrase I've now come to expect and look forward to.
"You're beautiful!" echoed across the newsroom in confident, convincing tones.
I looked up. Finally, SOMEONE had noticed. I was flattered but ready to accept my due as one of the beautiful people. I wasn't going to deny it.
Then my colleague across the aisle started chatting with his wife, and I realized nobody was telling me I was beautiful.
He has a tradition of declaring as soon as his wife answers the phone, "You're beautiful!"
And even though it's not meant for me, I still get a little lift from it.

Posted by Trish Choate at 09:01 PM | Permalink