THROWBACK THURSDAY: When A Stranger Says Hello

Looking back today on the surprisingly tapestry of this blog for a post from the past for today.

From  Saturday, September 12, 2015....

When A Stranger Says Hello

So the other day, this was trending on Twitter: #WhenAStrangerSaysHello

 

My lone contribution to this topic was as follows:

 

I say hello back because there's a really good chance this person is not a stranger & I'm incredibly bad with names.

 

I got a few favorites and retweet off of that one. But here's the thing: that's a completely true statement.

 

I have what you might call a field of reference when it comes to remembering who you are. If you come under this field, I will remember your name. 

• Wife
• Child
• Mom
• Most other family members but not anything from 1st cousin on
• People I currently work with in my immediate vicinity who I see almost every single day
• People who have broken my heart (Bitter? Who, me?)
• People I met within the last two minutes (After three minutes, it starts to fade)
• People with name tags (OK, that's cheating)

Beyond that, names elude me and not only that but also faces. Sometimes a face will resonate something in the back of my head but I'm not sure if I really know this person or they just look like somebody else I know.

If the person in question is black, I worry I might seem racist if I don't say hello.

"You know that white boy can't tell us apart?"

"What a racist!"

No, I'm not! Seriously, this issue with not recognizing people is an equal opportunity pain in the ass.

So I say hello to everybody. Yes, it's a nice friendly thing to do, even if I get startled looks from people who it turns out, no, I don't know them. But when I say hello to a stranger, there's is a very good chance that they're not a stranger, I just don't know that.

And I'm so glad my suffering amuses you.