Tricks of the Trade

Had an experience tonight that made me think a little. I'm not always the best at putting together names and faces. Given that my name is Kermit, folks tend to remember the name. I'm also not real quick on my feet when it comes to recovering in public. I witnessed an awesome thing tonight that is so simple....of course I'll never apply it, but...

I grew up in the RVA. I left for about 7 years for school and partying, but I came back. When I went to work, it was for growing company. That's when it began. I was always running into people who I knew from high school.

When I started doing wedding photography, it only got worse. Now, I'm not one to go to HS reunions. There are plenty of people I'm curious about, but you never know if they're going to be there or not. And lets face it, sometimes the past is best left there. All too often it just doesn't live up to your memory.

(Wow, that sounds horrible. I don't mean it that way at all. Its just that the girl you had the crush on never ends up like you think she should have. People are always wanting to be your friend who didn't give you the time back in the day. Its hard to separate that from the folks you genuinly wonder about....especially when they may not give a rats ass about you).

Ok so back to what I learned. Tonight I ran into a guy I worked with in HS. We were friends, but you know, not buds. Probably partied some. I ran into him once in Charlotte while I was in school. How odd was that. After that time he achieved some fame, so naturally I remember him. Well, tonight he walked up and said hey, introduced his kid, etc. Very nice. So here's the trick. As we were talking, he's putting my name/email in his PDA. And here's what he said; "Kermit, how do you spell your last name?" How simple is that! There's no way he'd have remembered it anyway.

Not sure why I'm fascinated by this, but I am. Such a simple thing, and it doesn't come off as fake. This is a talent I do not have. Like, at my wife's company Christmas party, she's talking to this guy who says "I bet Kermit doesn't remember me!". Crap, what do you do then? Fact was I did recognize him, but couldn't come up with his name. Guess it wouldn't have worked to ask him to spell it, huh.

Ride. Saturday. Be there or be.....busy doing something important.
My tattoosake, Einsturzende Neubauten is playing in the backgound and is calling me.