Compliment Interlopers Come to Town

When I first moved back to Washington, I was living in a sweet apartment in Dupont. A friend of my mom's generously let me crash in a spare room of her penthouse in exchange for only my company and the occasional carton of cigarettes. The ceilings were high, views were spectacular, life was good.

But that wasn't what made me happiest as I trudged up and down Connecticut Avenue each day for my low-paying, glorified copy editor job. It was a skinny guy who hung out by the Cosi and told me that I had a nice smile. Or a nice "strut." Or some other equally, surprisingly not-creepy compliment. He was known as the Compliment Man.

His time in this town dates back to my junior high days -- as you can see from this long-ago City Paper account -- and even though I feel like everyone I know is aware of this guy, it occurs to me that some newcomers probably aren't. Long story short: he ruled.

This weekend, two college kids will be cavorting around town doling out compliments to passers by on the Mall, in Dupont and in other assorted locations around town. Apparently, the duo made some sort of YouTube splash and now Kodak is supporting their Brightside Tour of the East Coast this summer. I've only seen the video below, but I'm sad to say, as earnest as these guys are, they don't hold a candle to D.C.'s own. He had soul, you know? Check out this annoyingly un-embeddable video of him for comparison's sake. And where is the Compliment Man now? Has anyone seen him lately?

Anyway, a compliment's a compliment, so if you see these guys around, that's the deal.

UPDATE: Could this be the latest of the Compliment Man?

-- Julia