I have a terrible affliction. I’m forgetting people’s names and faces. Sometimes I’ll remember one but I rarely can put the combo together. Especially if I meet someone in one context and see them in another. I’m either incredibly rude or, I think, I’ve reached my quota for names and faces.
I have forgotten the names/faces of men I’ve dated.
I have blanked on co-workers names, including former bosses.
I deleted people from my memory that I knew in Calgary when I moved to Vancouver, then I did the same to Vancouverites when I moved to London, then I moved back to Van and now I’m screwed.
Yesterday I ran into an old friend, whose name and face I remembered, she told me a funny story about a guy she briefly dated. This guy is an actor and as she doesn’t know many actors besides me (sure, sometimes I act, roll with it), she asked him if he knew me.
His reply, “Oh yeah, I know her. I hate her.”
“Why do you hate her?”
“Because she forgot my name.”
Oy. Of all the reasons to hate me, that is the dumbest I’ve ever heard.
Dear unnamed actor, I’m sorry I didn’t remember you. I doubt we had any conversation substantial enough to merit me saving space in my brain to align your face and your name together. If we were to meet again, I might recall your face. But you have to learn not to take little things like this personally. Consider it a compliment to your future career as a character actor.
Sincerely, Sara – the woman who has been around the block too many times
Sara Bynoe 