I usually remember people…
Recently I “met” a man who I have previously met 4 times.
The first time was at a (1) community lunch that we both attended. We sat beside each other talked about our professions and several things we had in common. It was nice. The second time was (2) two weeks later at a similar event, again sitting at the same table for lunch. There was a vague memory of the first lunch. The third time was (3) again at lunch, but this time by happenstance. It was as if we had never met. The fourth time was at (4) a Wednesday night dinner at church. We sat immediately next to each other and I intentionally had a “memorable” conversation about Jack Black singing gospel songs. Who could forget that? The fifth time (5) was just the other day…
I’m not sure what this means. I’m not sure if I should be offended, or not care, or treat it as proof that “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” is just not true. In any event, I recommend that you try to remember people and remember meeting them.
The one final take away is that on all of these occasions I was NOT wearing a bow tie. Perhaps I am not myself sans bow tie.
Matthew Thompson is a Divorce Litigation Lawyer in Mississippi, the Hospitality State and is recommitting to the bow tie.
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I’ve actually had this exact same experience may years ago. I was a relatively new lawyer, although I had at least five years in (less than ten) and the same lawyer who was a prominent local attorney introduced himself to me repeatedly, as in “hello, I’m . . . “. The last time, in a bit of exasperation, I said “I know, we’ve met before. . .”
To make a long story shorter, I later came to know him in a completely different context, in a bit of a second vocation for him which probably reflected his true calling. In that context, he never forgot my name, my wife’s name, nor the name of my kids. I hadn’t been super keen on him originally, but when I got to know him in that context, I changed my mind considerably. Sadly, he got around to the second vocation a bit late in life and when I just saw him this past week, he’d turned frail and his health was failing, but he asked about everyone by name.
What’s that say, well, probably not much. But sometimes people know us in context, and the context doesn’t matter that much until it matters, perhaps, to them.
On a second note, now being in my 50s, I’ve watched quite a few people really begin to fail to recall who is who over the years, and sometimes that happens surprisingly young to some. That used to irritate me a bit, but now having watched this occur to so many, it now just worries me when I see it. Signs, sometimes, of an advancing loss of more than just that.