by Cindy Bee

When I was young， I spent some memorable time with my Great Aunt Toots who lived with my great grandparents her whole life. They were born， lived， and worked in a small coal mining town in Southern Illinois.

Although my great aunt was the town beautician， she called herself a “beauty operator.” She always wore white shoes， a white uniform-type dress， and a white coat to work. I thought she was some kind of doctor who operated on peoples beauty. Sometimes I would wait across the street from her shop， sitting on the bench with the old men outside the grocery store who worried sticks into 1）shavings with sharp pocket knives.

Ladies would go into my great aunts beauty shop often 2）hooded and 3）bedraggled， their heads bowed in shame or defeat. But soon 4）exclamations would 5）emanate from the other side of the large glass picture window that proclaimed “Lucilles Beauty Shop”in golden， arched letters.

From my place nestled among the old men on the bench， I could hear the 6）eruptive laughter， the loud chatter， or the high pitched 7）squeals of disbelief at the latest gossip. Most of the old ladies were very hard of hearing and everyone spoke at top pitch above the dryers that blasted hot air across pinned curls. Great Aunt Toots would tease out their hair as much as she would tease out their stories. “Well I want you to hush！” someone might proclaim， which didnt mean “hush” at all， and the delight would waft across the air like fresh baked bread on a winters day.

The ladies would emerge， light and fairy-like， with a new hairdo and primed with the latest small town news. The old men， their knives frozen in the air， would say loudly，“Mmmmm！” And the ladies would smile and pretend not to notice. But I could see that the compliments paid somehow drew everyone closer together. The whittling slowed for a bit after the ladies walked away， and the space was taken up with the wrinkled smiles of the old men. Everyone seemed a little better off.

I believe in giving compliments. Compliments are the very beginning of all good things. Where else can one get something so valuable that costs absolutely nothing to give？

When Great Aunt Toots finished for the day， we would walk home together. “The ladies looked pretty today，” I would say.

“I 8）fluff em， 9）buff em， and stuff em！” my aunt would say with a glint of pride and a twist of pure laughter in her tired voice.

My Great Aunt Toots never learned to drive a car， never moved from the house in which she was born， never married， and never got a high school diploma. But looking back on her lifes work， I think she contributed far more than most to her community. Who can say how far-reaching her work was？

I observed at an early age the gift of giving a compliment. Its like blowing a little air under a person and letting them rise up just a tiny bit even if only for a minute. Theres always something honestly good to say about everyone. I believe in finding that thing and then feeling good about saying it.

小時(shí)候，我曾和我的圖茨姑姥姥共度過一些難忘的時(shí)光。她一生都和我的祖父母一起生活。他們都在伊利諾斯州南部的一個(gè)煤礦小鎮(zhèn)出生、成長和工作。

雖然我的姑姥姥是鎮(zhèn)上的美容師，但她卻自稱為“美麗操手”。她工作時(shí)總是穿著白色的鞋子、白色的制服裙和一件白色的外套。我想她就是某種為他人美麗形象而施以手術(shù)的醫(yī)生。有時(shí)候，我會在她店子對面的街上等著，和一些老頭兒坐在雜貨鋪門口的長凳上。這些老人悶悶不樂，用鋒利的口袋折疊刀將木棍子削成刨花。

女士們會走進(jìn)我姑姥姥的美容院，常常是戴著兜帽，發(fā)絲濕嗒嗒亂糟糟的，或害羞或沮喪地耷拉著頭。但是不一會兒，贊嘆聲會從巨型落地玻璃窗的另一邊傳來。玻璃窗上赫然印著“露西爾美容院”幾個(gè)金色弧形大字。

從我身處的地方，和老頭們共坐的長凳上，我可以聽到那邊廂突然爆發(fā)出的笑聲、高聲的閑談，或是論及家長里短時(shí)為表難以置信而迸發(fā)的高頻尖叫聲。大部分年邁的女士都耳背得厲害，每個(gè)人都扯著嗓門說話，以壓過電吹風(fēng)的熱風(fēng)吹過頭上那發(fā)卷時(shí)的聲響。圖茨姑姥姥會逗弄她們的頭發(fā)，就像她會調(diào)侃她們的故事一樣?！皡?，你就別說了！”有人可能會聲明道，但其實(shí)這話一點(diǎn)兒都不是指“別說”的意思，那份喜悅會穿過空氣飄散開來，如同冬日里新鮮出爐的面包。

女士們會頂著新發(fā)型走出門來，腦子里裝滿了最新的小鎮(zhèn)消息，容光煥發(fā)、仙子一般。那些老頭兒，他們的刀子凍結(jié)在空氣中，他們會大聲說出這樣的話：“嗯—嗯—嗯—嗯—嗯！”女士們則會微笑起來，裝作不在意。但我能夠看到這些贊美的話不知何故把每個(gè)人都拉得更近了。女士們走后，削木頭的活兒會慢下來，接著整個(gè)空間會被那些老頭兒滿布皺紋的微笑所占據(jù)。每個(gè)人看起來都更加快樂了。

我推崇授人贊美。贊美是所有好事的最初起點(diǎn)。一個(gè)人能從別的什么地方獲得如此珍貴的東西呢？付出贊美完全無須代價(jià)。

當(dāng)圖茨姑姥姥完成了一天的工作，我們會一起走回家。“女士們今天看起來很漂亮呢，”我會說。

“我給她們吹松，給她們上油，給她們定型！”姑姥姥會這么說，話語里帶著自豪的光芒，疲倦的嗓音中擠出一點(diǎn)純凈的笑聲來。

我的圖茨姑姥姥從來沒學(xué)過開車，從來沒搬出過她出生的那所房子，從來沒有結(jié)過婚，也從來沒有拿過一張高中畢業(yè)證書。但回首她一生的工作，我覺得她的貢獻(xiàn)遠(yuǎn)多于鎮(zhèn)上的大部分人。誰能說清她工作的影響力能傳得多遠(yuǎn)呢？

年少時(shí)，我就觀察到予人贊美的力量。那就像是在別人身下吹起一小股風(fēng)，讓他們抖擻一陣子，就算是一分鐘也好。每一個(gè)人總會有閃光點(diǎn)值得我們誠心贊美。我樂于發(fā)掘他人的美善之處，給予贊美，心生快意。