The term “class act,” describes behavior so virtuous that it puts normal behavior to shame. It was a class act when wealthy Benjamin Guggenhiem, gave his life jacket to a woman passenger on the Titanic and then put on white tie and tails so he could die “like a gentleman.” It was a class act when writer Laurence Housman removed his jacket at a very proper English tea party so that a man who had just arrived in shirt sleeves wouldn’t feel embarrassed. Even simple good sportsmanship can rise to the level of class act, as it did with tennis player Matt Wilander in the semi-finals of the French Open. At match point, a shot by Wilander’s opponent was ruled out. Wilander walked over to the umpire and said, “I can’t win like this. The ball was good.”
Simple nobility of character makes each of us a class act.