Jean in Newcastle Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Do you see people whom you recognize but don't know why? or from where? I see people all the time that I recognize. Sometimes they look at me with a "I think I recognize that woman but from where?" look in their eyes. But I'm usually too chicken to ever ask them if I know them. And how would you do that anyway? Did you ever go to x, y or z school, shop at x, y or z shops, go to x, y or z churches. . . I've known people at so many places! Some I know well, some just to recognize from having seen them over and over again. . . The other day though, my checker at Goodwill looked so familiar. And I was sure it was from college days. So I was brave. I asked him, did you ever go to X University? He had - at a time when I hadn't been there! But somehow that triggered this Indian (as in India) man to tell me his life story. And I don't think I had ever been to any of those places before!:blush: I just left him with the impression that I must have seen him on campus somehow. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I usually can't figure it out without help. What I get instead is people who know me but I have no clue who they are. I had a lady start talking to me in the bathroom at church. I must have had a look on my face because she reminded me that we knew each other from taekwondo. I acted like, "oh yeah. Hi, how are you? Could you give this to my husband on your way out? He's right outside the door. (I was changing a baby diaper and he need the slip to pick up the other kids.)" My reason for doing this was two part: 1) To get the slip to hubby and 2) So, he could tell me who she was. Once we were talking about her, my brain finally clicked as to who she was and which kid was hers. Sometimes I feel like I need to find my brain because it ain't in my skull. (Yes, I know ain't ain't a word. LOL) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I quickly tell them my name in the hopes that they will then tell me theirs. If that doesn't work, I say, "Worlds Collide! Which one do I know you from? You are SO familiar!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Do you see people whom you recognize but don't know why? or from where? Oh all the time. I think the older we get the more a) we see the same people over and over and b) we realize how many people in the world have similiar features or characterisics. Just the other day my 64 year old mother, eating lunch 100 miles from where she was born and raised, spotted a gentlemen alone and was so convinced she knew him she went to his table and asked him. She was right. He was from their small home town and they chatted for 20 minutes. Weird, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Whenever I see someone I think I know, I always talk to them. In fact, I've kind of made it a new habit to talk to strangers when I'm out. (That sounds 'dangerous' when I type it out, LOL. Aren't we supposed to tell our kids not to talk to strangers? I don't.) Anyway, I was surprised how friendly people are when I started doing it. I dunno, it brightens my day. :001_smile: I, on the other hand, am always being 'recognized'. I have one of 'those' faces, I guess, where I look like everyone. :D People are constantly thinking they may know me, but really I just look like someone they know or used to know. It's strange. But now, whenever someone starts the 'do I know you?' talk, I just tell them 'No, I just have one of 'those' faces'. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I have one of those faces, too. When people think they know me, I say I look like every other Irish/Polish woman in Buffalo :lol: (blue eyes, light brown hair, super fair skin). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I have one of those faces, too. When people think they know me, I say I look like every other Irish/Polish woman in Buffalo :lol: (blue eyes, light brown hair, super fair skin). HA! you just described me. 'Cept I'm German, and in the Detroit area. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 My dh is from Middle of Nowhere, North Florida. We live in Middle of Nowhere, North Carolina. He was in a small store the other day and ran into someone who graduated high school with his older sister. It's a small world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 But we have a friend who really does know everyone around here. He is constantly having people come up to him "Aren't you x y from z high school?" And he always is. It's a joke around us, "well X knows him, right?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsrevmeg Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I have one of those faces, too. When people think they know me, I say I look like every other Irish/Polish woman in Buffalo :lol: (blue eyes, light brown hair, super fair skin). Haha! You just described me, only I'm Dutch/Irish, from the South. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I have one of those faces, too. When people think they know me, I say I look like every other Irish/Polish woman in Buffalo :lol: (blue eyes, light brown hair, super fair skin). I cover the dark hair, dark eyes, fair skin end of the spectrum. For some reason the people that swear they know me will argue. I've had to flash my driver's license to prove I'm not "Sarah." I do try to say hello to people that I recognize, but usually just start with, 'you look SO familiar.' Nine times out of ten I coached/lead their child in some program at some point :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodle Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 While I don't often think I recognize someone else, I get asked a lot by others who think they have seen me before. Maybe I should post my picture and see how many here "know" me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 My mom does that and she is not too afraid to ask. She has lived in the same general area for many years. In the last two weeks she has ran into my old elementary school teacher (from the 70s) & a co-worker from her last job (in the late 50s). She has not changed much so many people recognize her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I, on the other hand, am always being 'recognized'. I have one of 'those' faces, I guess, where I look like everyone. :D People are constantly thinking they may know me, but really I just look like someone they know or used to know. It's strange. But now, whenever someone starts the 'do I know you?' talk, I just tell them 'No, I just have one of 'those' faces'. :001_smile: Same here... and I often get "Are you XXX's daughter/sister?" and the name is always different :lol:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leanna Tomlinson Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I am constantly seeing people I recognize but can't place. Thankfully I have a daughter who doesn't forget ANYTHING. She always says, "Mom, that's the clerk that waited on you at Hobby Lobby." or "You and that lady spoke at the library the last time you were there." My dd is a riot, but she also really helps my foggy brain.;) Leanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I cover the dark hair, dark eyes, fair skin end of the spectrum. For some reason the people that swear they know me will argue. I've had to flash my driver's license to prove I'm not "Sarah." Ha! You just described me! Didn't we have a thread once called 'what famous person do people mistake you for?' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 It is easy to recognize familiar faces in context, but when they're out of it, I also get that nagging feeling of knowing them, but being unable to place them. I always seem to figure it out in the parking lot on my way out :glare: I should be braver, at least you gals who are have more interesting conversations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Ha! You just described me! Didn't we have a thread once called 'what famous person do people mistake you for?' Never anyone famous (for me), just people's friends. I usually feel bad for them, because (before they realize I'm really not who they think I am) they get really hurt that I don't recognize/acknowledge them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I usually get it the other way around. Dh is one of the pastors at a very large church. I get people coming up to me all the time saying, "Are you ----'s wife?" I attend the early service and am usually with our kids so I only know a tiny, tiny fraction of the people dh does. When this happens I always hear that old song playing in my head " I always feel like somebody's watching me..." :D:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Just last week, a gal said "Hi, Mrs. E____!" (my correct name) to me as we were leaving the library in a neighboring county. Neither ds nor I figured out who she was before she drove away. I'm embarassed to let most people know I don't know who they are, so I carry on a conversation, all the while trying to gain hints as to how we know each other. I almost always figure it out. This happens in the library, grocery store, doctor's office, etc. I was only about 21 when I went to a high school classmate's wedding. At the reception, I had a LONG conversation with a nice man who obviously knew me, but I had no clue who he was. I never did figure it out until my Mom asked me on the way home what Greg and I had talked about for so long. LOL -- my Mom recognized him when I didn't even know she knew him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 I'm embarassed to let most people know I don't know who they are, so I carry on a conversation, all the while trying to gain hints as to how we know each other. I almost always figure it out. This happens in the library, grocery store, doctor's office, etc. This reminded me that I did have another embarrassing conversation with someone I was sure I knew. I had about a 5 minute chat with a man on the sidewalk one day, about the weather and current events, until I all of a sudden realized that I didn't really "know" him. He was Bill Nye, the Science Guy! When embarrassment flooded my face and I started to stammer, he just laughed (quite sympathetically) and told me that he had people do that all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in PA Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Do you see people whom you recognize but don't know why? or from where? I see people all the time that I recognize. Sometimes they look at me with a "I think I recognize that woman but from where?" look in their eyes. But I'm usually too chicken to ever ask them if I know them. And how would you do that anyway? Did you ever go to x, y or z school, shop at x, y or z shops, go to x, y or z churches. . . I've known people at so many places! Some I know well, some just to recognize from having seen them over and over again. . . The other day though, my checker at Goodwill looked so familiar. And I was sure it was from college days. So I was brave. I asked him, did you ever go to X University? He had - at a time when I hadn't been there! But somehow that triggered this Indian (as in India) man to tell me his life story. And I don't think I had ever been to any of those places before!:blush: I just left him with the impression that I must have seen him on campus somehow. . . Yes, this happens to me all the time! I've just accepted the fact that I remember people that I've just seen around, and it doesn't mean that I knew them well or anything, even though it feels like I did. I once saw a woman in the mall, felt like I knew her really, really well somehow, went up to ask how I knew her, and eventually I found out that she was the principal of a neighboring high school whom I had seen *one time* when I was at an event at the school. Ha, guess I didn't really know her as well as it seemed to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 My husband is a public school teacher. I get recognized a lot but don't always know by who. They'll remember me as Mr. S****'s wife. Uh, okay. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I do this all the time. It embarrasses me when someone remembers me and I don't remember them. I know my head injury plays into it, but it still really embarrasses me. I don't want them to think they didn't leave an impression! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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