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
• Daughter
• 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.


Be good to one another. I'm back tomorrow with the epic conclusion of my Doctor Who fan fiction, Prisoners of the Daleks.


And I hope, gentle blog reader, that you really like Doctor Who because next week is Doctor Who Week here on the blog as we get closer and closer to the debut of Series 9.