January 11, 2014

Where Do I Know You From?

My friend, Diane and I sat eating birthday cake last night. As we nibbled ( or wolfed, depending on what side of the forks you were on) we discussed various subjects.

I like her a lot. She shares the same sense of humor that I have, though I am much further north of irreverent than she is!

The fiance of my niece entered the space.  Diane whispered that she had seen him in Home Depot or Lowes last week, knew that she knew him but couldn't place him without my niece standing next to him. Being a little on the shy side, she hesitated to approach him but he looked up and greeted her.

"Diane, Happy New Year!  How are you?"

"I'm doing good, how are you?"

"Just shopping for supplies to attack the "to do" list Chris gave me for Christmas!"

Ah, she though, it's Dennis!  They had a pleasant conversation and than continued on their way.

We live in a fairly small town so one runs across quite a few faces that are familiar but out-of-context the name that goes along with the face might elude one.  Sometimes this is caused by a blip in the occipital lobe. Other times it is a mild form of prosopagnosia; you don't recognize the face because the facial expression you usually associate with the face differs from the expression you are witnessing at the moment. Or, simply, the face is not where it belongs in your personal reality.

You spot the receptionist from the dentist's office at the mall and she is smiling. Her typical disdain because she is aware that you don't floss as well as you should is not apparent.  Obviously, she doesn't recognize you either without your  expression of anxiety.

You're at Jack In The Box,  the cashier from Walgreens is smiling, eating a Western Double Bacon Cheeseburger. She isn't stressed because there isn't a line 10-deep and no response to her call for assistance. 

Maybe you are in the waiting room at the Smog Check shop and your brother-in-law's sister-in-law's cousin's mom is behind the counter, smiling! Who knew that could happen?

Or maybe it's your mailman and the face if familiar but you can't see his knees because he is wearing jeans and a black Metal Mulisha sweatshirt with skulls, not his typical benign blue shirt and those cute blue wool bermuda shorts. Could be your OB/GYN and you're having difficulty placing his face without your knees framing it!

Diane commented that, while she is hesitant to ask some one, "Where do I know you from?" many folk often look at her and ask "Do I know you?"

That happens to me often, too, but I have a pretty good gift for faces and names. Diane might tap her chin and try to think of where the familiar face might fit in her life but I can usually remember their birth date, blood pressure, weight and the medications I called in for them to Target or if they usually ran a pretty high balance due.

Diane is nice. I can be nice, but being retired and sometimes a tad bit bored, I have to create my own entertainment, part of the irreverent gene, I suppose!

Over lemonade and lemon cake, my friend and I discussed how to answer that question in the future.

Question:  "WHERE DO I KNOW YOU FROM?"

Potential Answers:

1. "Group therapy in rehab, don't you remember me?" ( this one works well if you pull the sleeves of your sweater down past your wrists as if hiding track lines or hold one nostril closed with a finger and sniff lightly with the open nostril )

2. "Shh, we're supposed to be anonymous, remember?"

3. "OMG, how can you forget me? I will never forget that dance you did on the bar. Did you ever find your bra?"

4. "Oh, you wouldn't remember me, I was in the jury at your trial. I bet you looked cute in those orange jumpsuits!"

5. "Weren't you the lady standing behind me when airport security insisted that my breasts were too firm and I needed to be strip searched?  Sorry about hitting you, I just started swinging!"

6. "Wow, you do look familiar. Were you at Attica? I've only been out a week though I still say I didn't kill that guy?"

7.  "Yeah, Man. You're that Dude from the Mother Ship, right?"

I'm betting Diane will be hesitate before she goes out in public with me again.



 

1 comment:

  1. I heart this'un!
    The dude from the mother ship

    ReplyDelete

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